Out Of Sight
by pinkwar
Summary: Abandoned at ten & exiled to Beauxbatons at eleven, Harmony Potter has been all but forgotten about. But in October 1997 James Potter will have to learn that out of mind can no longer mean out of sight. The Triwizard Tournament is heading for Hogwarts & so is Harmony. This time she's going to make damn sure he can't dismiss her existence so easily Fem!Harry & Swearing Slow Snarry
1. Prologue

**This is an Au Fem!Harry (aka Harmony) and Hermione friendship story, with a large dollop of (later) slow burn / endgame snarry with a good sprinkle of James bashing. If any of those things bother you then pleased turn back now, this is highly unlikely to be the story for you. For the moment the story is purely rated for swearing nothing else. I hope to keep the fic fairly light hearted but life is not all sunshine and roses so we'll have to see where this heads, if anything happens that i feel you lovely people should be warned about i will post it in the note at the top of the new chapter so keep an eye on those please. **

**One other thing to note is that Viktor and Fleur have been aged down to correspond with Harmony's. I know in canon they are roughly two or three years older than Harry but since this is already heavily Au i don't think it should matter much. **

**Disclaimer, Anything you recognise as canon belongs to JK Rowling, and her various subsidiaries. **

**I make no money ****from this work, it is simply done for pleasure. **

_**Prologue**_

James Potter loved Lily Evans.

It was simple, unequivocal and as damning a statement as Harmony Potter had ever heard in her seventeen years of life.

It was simple because everyone knew, that since the day that they'd first met, James Potter was besotted with Lily Evans.

It was unequivocal because saying James Potter wouldn't love Lily Evans for the rest of his natural life and probably even beyond that of the stars. Would be like trying to say that the grass wasn't green or the sky wasn't blue.

It was damning because the grief he held, for the dead wife he still loved so desperately, would eclipse everything else in James Potters life … even the love he should've had for the daughter Lily had bore him.


	2. Childhoods End

Back when James Potter had still been known as papa and Harmony had yet to realise his flaws as a human being. They would sit together in the shade of the large oak in their back garden and he would regale the young girl with stories of her mother. Stories that told of how beautiful, brave, brilliant and kind she'd been.

James also told her fantastical tales of princes and princesses as all decent parents do. But even these didn't escape the grip of her sainted mother.

Her mother was portrayed as the princess fair, while her papa portrayed himself as the handsome prince who'd won her heart.

When Harmony was a little older, older than four but younger than seven, the once happy, carefree tales became darker.

Her papa began to tell her tales of a rat who'd betrayed his brothers in all but blood, and of how he'd led an evil man to the princesses fortress while her prince and his two knights were away on a quest most important.

The rat had led the evil man to the princess, her papa would tell her, because the evil man had heard of a prophecy that foretold of his death at the hands of a babe born as the seventh month dies; so the evil man decided that the babe must die.

The rat, traitor that he was, readily agreed to help his master and betrayed the secret place where the fortress stood.

And so with the prince and the knights away, the evil man and his rat traitor went to the fortress on all hallows eve intending to murder the princesses babe in cold blood.

In the end the evil man was vanquished, but not by the babe. He was vanquished by a murdered mothers wish to keep her beautiful child safe from harm.

The prince and his knights returned to their fortress expecting to find the princess and the babe waiting for their return. But what they found was their fortress destroyed, their Princess dead and a squalling babe trapped in the remains of her broken crib.

The rat was soon hunted down by the prince and his knights.

A snivelling mess of a man who had no desire to face what he'd done and who'd tried to murder a village just to escape. But the prince was to fast for the rat and he'd been captured before he'd had chance to utter a single curse. In the end he was sent to a distant rock, surrounded by sea and patrolled by shadows, and the rat went slowly mad.

With the rat dealt with, the prince and his knights returned to their broken fortress and their squalling babe. Intent on rebuilding their kingdom and living as happily as they could without their princess fair.

Unfortunately for Harmony Potter however, fairytales, no matter how anchored in truth, are just that, tales; real life rarely has a truly happy ending.

As happy as her early childhood had been, the latter half held nothing but loneliness and a profound sense of grief.

Harmony could still remember a time when she'd lived for James Potter's attention and back then he'd still been more than happy to provide her with it.

But now, as she gazed up into the leaves of an alder tree outside her school in France, she couldn't honestly remember how long ago James had last sat with her and regaled her with stories of the prince and the princess.

It was well before she'd began to resemble her sainted mother of that she was quite certain. And it was certainly long before that hateful summer when James Potter had felt the need to exile his daughter to another country, just to keep his sanity; while she couldn't remember how long ago, she could still remember the little details of the last time he'd told her that story with almost perfect clarity.

She could remember it was late summer because the air had been hot and dry, and the sun had been playing hide and seek with the old oaks leaves. Casting dappled shadows on James' face as he'd absently played with her scruffy strawberry blond hair.

The light breeze that had danced around the reclining pair had been perfumed by the smells of dry grass, baked earth and the numerous flowers that had run along the edge of the garden.

The one other thing that had stuck with her, from that last telling of her parents story, was that James' eyes had seemed to be looking somewhere beyond the garden and the tree. It was like he wasn't even aware he was talking to his daughter at all.

Perhaps if she'd paid more attention back then, James' later abandonment of her wouldn't have come as such a heart breaking shock.

Harmony huffed out a breath, looking down at the daisy she'd absently been playing with. She'd turned the poor thing into a bedraggled mess.

She threw the flower to the ground, disgusted with herself for letting James Potter hijack her thoughts.

She was seventeen now; dwelling on the fact that James Potter would rather live his life with memories of a dead woman, than with his living breathing daughter would do her no good.

It wasn't her fault that James depression had gotten worse the older she'd got or that she'd apparently begun to strongly resemble the mother that she'd never known.

When she been shipped off to Beauxbatons academy at the age of eleven she'd been distraught. She'd expected to go to Hogwarts, just like every other Potter before her had.

But by then James' long held grief meant he'd already been absent from the family home for nearly a year.

When her hair turned from it's soft strawberry blond and into a darker shade of ginger like her mothers, not long after her tenth birthday, James Potter had fled the house and sequestered himself away in the glorious castle he'd mentioned so many times in his stories.

He hadn't told her he was leaving. She'd just woke up one morning to find that the house was empty.

There hadn't even been a note.

He'd left all of her care in the hands of a single house elf, her mostly absent godfather, a werewolf who never had as much time for her as he'd like to and a few dozen portraits that tutted at her more than they ever spoke to her.

It'd been lonely, but she'd gotten by with the hope that her papa would come back home one day, instead of spending all his time at Hogwarts; when that hope inevitably waned, she turned it to hoping she could see him once she was able to attend the school herself.

Then that horrid day, her eleventh birthday, happened. James' selfishness had been intent on ripping the rug from under her feet one more time, and it'd managed it with nothing more than a piece of parchment.

Harmony frowned absently, picking up a dry blade of grass and beginning to mangle it the same as she had the poor flower, she could remember that morning so well.

She'd all but run down to breakfast. She'd expected to see a thick cream envelope and a crotchety school owl waiting for her, but she'd been sorely disappointed.

Instead of the owl and the cream envelope, there'd been a solitary dove grey letter in the middle of the kitchen table.

She could still remember the coldness that had swept through her as she'd walked towards that unassuming little letter. She'd picked it up with trembling hands, unpicked the sky-blue seal on the back, and began to read.

_To_

_Miss Harmony Jacqueline Hosta Potter._

_After receiving enquires from your father we have the great pleasure of informing you that you have been accepted to Académie de Magie Beauxbâtons (Beauxbatons academy of magic). We expect to see you for the start of term on September 2__nd__ 1991._

_Please find enclosed a list of required books and equipment._

_It is also recommended that international students take a portkey the day before the term is due to start to prevent tardiness._

_Yours sincerely_

_Madame Olympe Maxime_

_Headmistress of Beauxbatons Academy_

She hadn't noticed the letter falling to the ground, her breathing growing rapid, or that the cheery kitchen seemed to fade out of existence as she'd struggled to breathe.

Right there on that sunny morning at the end of July she'd had her very first anxiety attack; it wouldn't be that last one she'd have due to James Potter's selfishness either.

Not by a long shot.

When her breathing had eventually eased and the sunny kitchen had come back into focus, she'd found herself on the floor with her back pressed tight in to the tables legs and her hands holding onto of her ankles in a white knuckled grip.

She'd had bruises around them for nearly a week after that godforsaken letter had arrived.

She'd gingerly picked the letter back up, tracing over the damning words with a trembling finger.

_After receiving enquires from your father._

The letter had crumpled in her hand as she closed her eyes against the bitter words, and silently wept into her bent legs.

Eventually she'd managed to force herself off the floor, before throwing the letter on the table and marching out back to the dusty broom shed.

Flying cleared her head, and without the constant presence of adults in the house during that lonely year she'd not had anyone to tell her she couldn't go as high or as fast as she wanted.

With the summer breeze swirling around her, and her empty stomach swooping as she'd done another dive, she'd come to the conclusion that her papa was no longer that man who told her stories or tucked her into bed and he never would be again.

When she'd eventually forced herself to look at the supply lists for the French school nearly a week later, having finally realised that she wasn't going to have a choice in where she was sent, she'd asked herself what type of parent would do this to their child.

Who would send a child, with no usable knowledge of magic or even a basic grasp of French, to a foreign school far away from anyone who was going to have her back.

In the end the answer had been simple, a parent wouldn't. But James Potter would.

She never called him papa again after that, not even in the privacy of her own head, she simply hadn't thought he deserved the title anymore

Harmony was pulled from her less than pleasant thoughts about her late childhood by the loud thump of half a dozen books hitting the dry ground next to her.

Releasing the mangled blade of grass, she Shielded her eyes against the late summer sun and smiled at the bushy haired witch that was about to join her under the shade of the alder tree.

"Hi Hermione, been raiding the library again?"

Her friend gave her an arch look.

"Of course I have. You've got this insane idea into your head to enter that blasted tournament, forgive me for wanting to be prepared just in case you do get picked by whoever this impartial judge is."

Harmony smiled. "Don't worry so much Mione', whoever they are they're unlikely to pick Beauxbatons rebel child."

Hermione huffed out a breath before picking up a book that was so old it looked like it's bindings were about to fall off.

"Whatever, if you truly believe that, then why put your name forwards in the first place?"

Harmony pursed her lips. "I put my name forwards because this might be my only chance of ever seeing Hogwarts. Merlin knows James is never willingly going to let me near the place."

Hermione settled the open book in her lap and looked over at her friend, worry etched around her eyes.

"Please tell me your not going to risk entering a magically binding contract just to get one over on your father".

Harmony scowled. "That man is not my father, he's the man who provided my genetic material, nothing else".

Hermione scowled back.

"Ok, fine. _Please _tell me that you're not risking being entered into a magical tournament, that could get you killed for Merlin's sake! Just so that you can get one over on _James Potter_".

Harmony looked away from her friend and began playing with a lock of her violently coloured hair.

"Fine I won't"

"Harmony!".

Harmony stopped fiddling with her hair and looked at her distraught friend. Even if she hadn't heard the undertones of it in her voice, she certainly wouldn't of missed the anxiety in her friends brown eyes.

With a sigh Harmony ran a hand through her long scruffy hair.

"Look I know it seems a stupid idea, even in my own head I'm having some serious misgivings … but you just wouldn't get this need Mione'. You didn't know about Hogwarts until you were more or less being pushed onto the train. But I grew up with stories of that castle; James robbed me of what should've been the best time of my life and instead I was left struggling in a school where I didn't know the language and was completely friendless … at least until you turned up anyway".

Hermione reached out a hand a rubbed at her friends shoulder comfortingly.

"I do get that Harmony, but the castle isn't anything special.. not really. It's certainly awe-inspiring when you first get there. But very quickly I learned it's a castle full of bullies and bigots and teachers who don't seem to be able to see past the end of their own noses. Why do you think I begged to be transferred? It wasn't just because my parents moved their practice to France, it was because I didn't want to remain in a school that saw me as nothing because I was too much of a know it all… or … not pure enough for their standards"

Harmony heard her friends voice catch and she leaned forwards to give her a hug.

"I get that Mione', I really do and if I ever come face to face with the wankers who called you those names they'll feel the end of my wand. But I want to go there. I think I need to prove to myself that my life wouldn't have been better if I'd been able to go to the magical castle that used to haunt my dreams and I think I still need to prove to myself that, that selfish man didn't fuck me up beyond repair."

Hermione's voice was slightly muffled when she answered because her head was still buried in her friends shoulder, but Harmony heard her well enough anyway.

"I'm not going to be able to talk you out of this am I?"

"Nope". Hermione pulled back and shook her head.

"Ok, fine. I won't ask again. But I swear to merlin Harmony Potter, if you get yourself killed during this hair brained plan, I will personally bring you back from the dead and kill you myself".

Harmony smiled. "Really feeling the love here 'Mione".

Hermione sniffed before picking her book up off her lap and burying her head in it. "Well you should. Especially since I asked Madame Maxime to put my name down on the list of students who want to go".

Harmony's smile dropped. "You can't be serious! If you get picked you could get killed!".

Hermione didn't look up from her yellowing book, but Harmony heard the steel in her voice all the same.

"I'm taking the same risks you are, so you've no right to object. Besides if you thought for one second that I was going to let you go all the way to Scotland without me, then you're seriously delusional".

She didn't really know what to say to that, so instead of saying anything she tackled her friend into a bone crushing hug that sent Hermione's book flying, and caused Harmony's glasses to squish into her face.

"I'm really glad you transferred from Hogwarts you know".

Harmony heard something that sounded suspiciously like a sniff from her friend, "Me to."

Clearing her throat Hermione pulled back form Harmony and picked up her book.

Harmony had the good grace not to draw attention to the fact that her friend discreetly wiped at her eyes as she picked her book back up.

As Hermione began to read once more, Harmony let the rustle of the alders leaves and the sound of old parchment being turned lull her into a state of semi relaxation against the tree trunk at her back. She could just feel herself being pulled into a light doze when a sudden exclamation from Hermione made her bolt upright and look over at her friend.

"What!".

"Nothing, I just remembered that Madame Maxime gave me a note for you when I went to her office to sign up for the tournament.. er, hang on I think I put it in one of the books so I didn't loose it".

A small smile tugged at Harmony's lips as she watched her friend start leafing through her various books and becoming more frantic when she couldn't find it.

"Oh, were has that blasted thing gone!.. I could've sworn I put it in this ... oh ... actually didn't I put it in ...".

Hermione abandoned her books and dug around in her bag for a few seconds; She came back with a triumphant smile and a small folded square of dove grey paper with a light blue seal.

"This is it. I remember now I was going to put it inside the books but I worried that the fresh wax might damage them so I put it in my bag instead".

Hermione sat there proudly for a few seconds holding the found parchment; she seemed to have quite forgotten that Harmony actually needed to be given it in order to read it.

"So … Are you going to let me read the note or do you want us to try our hand at divination again?".

Hermione flushed pink and handed the note over. "Don't even, taking that blasted class for one term was bad enough".

Harmony held back a snigger. It was well known amongst Beauxbatons students that Hermione Granger was a swot, but it was also well known that Hermione never gave up on something she felt was worthwhile. So her walking out of divinations had caused quite the stir. Because If Hermione Granger, future intellectual extraordinaire, refused to continue learning something then you knew it was a waste of time.

The classes attendance had dropped significantly after Hermione's walk out.

Poor Professor Prichard had been left with a very small flock of sheep to continue teaching the workings of the inner eye to.

Hermione made herself busy rearranging her books into two neat piles, while Harmony opened her note.

Honestly she wasn't expecting much, this was likely another summons for one infarction or another, Maxime had never seemed to truly like her (which if she really thought about it was atleast partly her fault) and she was forever berating her for one thing or another.

The headmistress had looked like she'd sucked a particularly sour lemon when she'd asked Maxime to put her on the tournament list. She hadn't been able to refuse of course, but she'd looked like she'd wanted to.

Reading through the note Harmony let out a short bark of laughter.

"What?" asked Hermione.

"Oh nothing, Maxime was just trying to remind me that it would be quite '_improper_', if I was to turn up at Hogwarts with, _'unnatural hair choices_' and '_clothing only fit for a gang_', and that she wouldn't hesitate in leaving me here to, '_think about my inappropriate life choices'_. So in other words I have to turn up looking suitably Fleur-ish, if I don't want to be left behind."

Hermione looked at her friends abundance of brightly coloured hair critically.

"Do you want me to help you dye it? I know we have a free weekend before we leave, we could pick up a hair dye on the way to mum and dads".

Harmony shook her head sending her scruffy purple and black curls bouncing around her face.

"Nah, Don't worry about it. I'll put a colour charm on it just before we're due to leave. It'll last long enough that it'll be to late to send me back by the time it wears off".

Harmony felt a rather evil grin take over her face as a thought came to her, James was going to hate seeing her whatever she did so she might as well rub some salt in the wound while she was at it.

"Besides". Said Harmony as she lent back into the tree and crossed her legs at the ankles, her patent combat boots catching the summer sun as she did so. "I think the host school would appreciate me showing them some solidarity, don't you think?".

Hermione looked at her friend warily. "I know that look, what are you up to Harm?".

"Don't worry about it Mione', I think James Potter will love it".

With that she closed her eyes and let the sounds of late summer carry her away. She heard Hermione huff once more before resuming her book.

As she began to drift she had the idle thought that she would miss Beauxbatons.

Ironic really considering that she'd never wanted to be in this school in the first place. But it'd become her home, she hadn't been back to England for more than a few weeks every summer since she'd started here and she'd not seen James at all since the summer just before her second year.

She'd been with Sirius and Remus in Diagon alley enjoying an ice cream, when James had come out of Flourish and Blotts.

They'd all frozen like rabbits caught in a strong Lumos, but he'd recovered quicker than they had and after a terse nod at her godfather and his husband. James had briskly walked in the opposite direction of the trio and out of sight.

He hadn't looked at her once, it was like she no longer existed for James Potter.

_Well._ Thought Harmony as a slow smile spread over her lips. _The times come for James Potter to realise you can't abandon a child without consequences._

_I can't wait to see his face when he realises that I've invaded his precious haven. _


	3. The Only Way To Fly

_ 30 __th __October 1997 _

Harmony felt sick to her stomach and she hoped like hell that the carriage was going to land soon. She'd never been nervous of flying and she wasn't now, but the anticipation of seeing Hogwarts for the first time was sending her insides into knots.

That, and she had a fair idea of the reception she was likely to receive from James once he realised that she was part of the Beauxbatons delegation, it was something she was dreading and anticipating in equal measure.

To say his reaction wasn't likely to be pretty would be a gross understatement.

A quick glance at the seat across from her, showed that Hermione was still busy reading through one of the books that she'd acquired about the tournament when they'd recently visited Rue Lisette.

Books about the tournament had been extremely difficult to come by in the school library and Hermione had all but devoured the half dozen or so she'd initially found.

But apparently in Rue Lisette you could get anything if you asked the right people. It was supposed to be the French equivalent of Diagon Alley, but in Harmony's opinion that assessment didn't do the street justice. Lisette was much better than Diagon could ever dream of being.

The place was absolutely bursting with colour and had such an eclectic mix of shops, that you could pick up something as benign as basic potions ingredients in one, to purchasing something to make your furniture sing the national anthem every time someone sat on it, in another.

It was also a much more open minded environment than it's British equivalent. She knew for a fact that at least two of the shop owners were openly lupine and yet they weren't shunned as they would've been in Britain.

Harmony was fairly certain that despite outward appearances the wolves were likely still denied certain freedoms that other French citizens had, but at least they appeared to have been given the right to work and support themselves.

Something that had been all but stripped from Remus since some bitch in the ministry had drafted a set of ridiculous anti werewolf laws a couple of years earlier.

Sirius had been trying to use his seat on the Wizengamot to get her fired, but the years were passing and he still hadn't succeeded, though she imagined he might do better if he actually stayed awake during the meetings.

Looking back out of the window she could see that they'd long since left the English channel behind; all she could see now were splotches of green and grey as they flew, completely unnoticed, over the various muggle towns and cities below.

A strand of dark ginger hair fell into her eyes and she brushed it out of her face irritably, another quick glance over at her friend told her that Hermione had moved on from simply reading her books, to taking reams of notes on Several feet of parchment.

Though she was being meticulous to not get any ink on her pristine travelling uniform.

Not that Harmony was surprised that Hermione was being more anal than normal to keep her uniform in mint condition.

Maxime had been quite insistent that they must all turn up looking nothing short of perfect and remain that way for the rest of their time at Hogwarts. Lest they wish to be sent back to France at her earliest convenience.

She'd looked rather put out when Harmony had arrived at the carriage with all the others looking like a picture perfect student.

She'd clearly hoped Harmony wouldn't heed her, many and increasingly thorough, warnings of what would happen if any of them once stepped out of line with either their appearance or behaviour.

But she'd had no intention of being left behind and if playing dress up was what Harmony needed to do in order to achieve her goal, then so be it.

She'd made sure that her travel uniform was perfectly pressed, her shoes were polished and that her hat was resting on her head at exactly the right angle.

Even her hair had been made to behave and it was now sitting around her face in perfectly controlled waves.

Something that would've been impossible without the help of a potion she'd recently been encouraged to purchase.

She'd gotten it from Adele's while Hermione had been busy visiting Monsieur le Liant to pick up her latest consignment of books.

Adele's was a shop that Harmony had spent a great deal of Bezant's in over the years. It stocked nothing but hair products and had every colour of magical dye imaginable.

She adored the place.

Adele always had some wacky new colour for her to try whenever she got time to visit, and the colours hadn't failed yet in getting Maxime's dander up. Not least because, as much as the headmistress had tried, they couldn't be removed with a spell once they'd set. Covered up yes, but never removed.

Adele had been rather surprised to see her back in her shop so soon, since she'd only made a visit to stock up on supplies just before the new term had started, but after a brief explanation Adele had given her an enthusiastic smile and ransacked her shops inventory with all the finesse of a miniature whirlwind.

Apparently Maxime hadn't liked Adele much either when she'd been a student.

After a rather dizzying shopping experience Harmony had managed to procure everything she'd wanted, plus as a few other things that she wouldn't normally have bothered to give a second look.

But as Adele had pointed out with a kind smile and a flick of her sunflower yellow hair, they were things she'd need if she wanted to make the right impression, or the wrong one as the case may be.

Leaning back in her seat, she couldn't stop her smile as she remembered the look on Hermione's face when Harmony had shown her, her haul outside the bookshop.

She'd looked almost scandalised once she'd realised what Harmony was planning to do with her hair. But she hadn't objected to helping her, which spoke volumes really.

After several hours in Hermione's parents bathroom, and more fumes than was likely good for either of them, Harmony had been the proud new owner of Slytherin green hair with lovely silver tips that magically scrolled up through her scruffy curls like snakes writhing through grass.

Not that anyone could currently see that of course.

As soon as the dye had been dry, Hermione had cast a temporary colour charm over her hair. Removing her lovely green locks, and replacing it with the much loathed colour that had, apparently, once been her mothers.

Harmony tugged on a strand of her hair in disgust, she hated having to wear her hair like this and was counting down the days until charm her friend had meticulously applied degraded, because frankly not even getting to see the fabled Hogwarts was worth walking around in her mothers sainted shadow for the rest of the year.

Thankfully, their endless reading since the tournament had been announced had been good for something.

According to one particularly smelly book, the tournaments binding contract (which was sealed with a rather nasty Geasan) didn't just extend to the chosen three, it also extended to anyone who put their name forwards to compete.

From what they could gather, the contract extension that had been made in the 1300s (after a Durmstrang headmaster had witnessed the grizzly death of his champion and proceeded to flee with rest of his progeny,) was to ensure that a full pool of back up competitors was still available should the official champion become incapacitated ... or dead.

Essentially the Geasan taboo would make it impossible for _any_ entrants to disappear, (not just the chosen champions) from the tournaments boundaries for a prolonged period of time. Not until the impartial judge officially announced the end of the tournament.

The result for anyone who tried to flee or for someone who forced an entrant to leave would not be pretty.

It was this taboo that Harmony was counting on; otherwise she'd need to spend the rest of the year looking like some weird clone of her dead mother and sucking up to Maxime in order to stay at the Scottish school, and she really wasn't prepared to do that.

But if the books were right, all Harmony needed to do was keep up the charade until her name was submitted to the tournaments judge; then it wouldn't matter what rules of Maxime's (or anyone else's) she broke. No one would be able to remove her without severe consequences.

Meaning Maxime could shove her threat of removal by international portkey up her arse and Harmony could go back to wearing her dark dyed uniforms, combat boots and bright dyed hair with complete impunity.

She couldn't wait.

Leaning her forehead against the cool glass of the carriages window, she could see that they were flying over land that was beginning to look increasingly wild.

They'd long since left the English cityscapes behind.

With her breath misting against the glass she watched as the sky turned from late afternoons deep orange to a luxurious dark purple, night was nipping at dusks heels.

Harmony felt the knot in her stomach tighten once more.

They'd be at Hogwarts soon.


	4. I Already Want to Boil My Head

Severus was stood with the rest of the teaching staff, radiating resentment_. _

He had much better things to be doing with his time than standing here in the chill of a late October evening; waiting for a bunch adolescents that clearly had less brains than a goldfish, if they thought it wise to risk their necks in the thrice damned tournament that was about to take place on Hogwarts hallowed grounds.

Personally he couldn't see the appeal of the bloody thing and had been vehemently against it being reinstigated at all.

Surprisingly, he hadn't been the only one.

Minerva had looked ready to eviscerate the members of the board when they'd made the announcement. But apparently the protestations of the headmistress and her staff meant nothing to the board, or to the ministry official who'd been the one to suggest the tournaments recommencement in the first place.

An uproarious laugh from the back of the group set his teeth on edge, and reminded him that not all of the teaching staff had been against this stupidity.

Potter had been a great advocate for the renewal of the tournament, doubtless he was trying to live his lost dreams of Gryffindor glory through his students.

Even now Severus could hear the head of Gryffindor coaching his progeny through what to do if they wanted to get picked. Not that it was going to work of course, because Severus was privy to something that Potter clearly wasn't.

The impartial judge he was trying to teach them to fool was an inanimate object. A goblet.

Apparently it only picked whoever it thought was magically worthy for the position of champion, all crap in Severus's opinion. As far as he was concerned the selection was just as likely to be a random one, as it was to do with any type of worthiness on the part of the idiots who'd submitted their names.

But at the end of the day he couldn't care less if the goblet picked the champions based on the colour of their underwear, as long as the Hogwarts champion wasn't one of Potters sycophants Severus would be happy… well not happy, but perhaps less likely to commit murder at any rate.

A loud gasp and several students pointing at the sky made Severus look up, through the clouds he could just make out something large and square coming towards Hogwarts.

Once the clouds parted Severus could see exactly what was heading for them.

A dozen large Abraxans were pulling a carriage the size of spinners end towards the school at high speed, aluminated by the light from the castles various windows, the carriage and the horses looked almost ethereal.

The unobstructed view of the flying monstrosity made the little idiots start to twitter excitedly at each other; Severus barely resisted the urge to roll his eyes at their dramatics.

Honestly the tournament hadn't even started yet and he already felt like boiling his head

The way the dunderheads were going on you'd never think that they lived in a magical institution for nine months of the bloody year.

Merlin help him, the castle was bad enough with the normal hormone addled twits running around, and now they were adding another scoopful to the already seething mix.

If no one ended up pregnant, or suffering from an extreme case of venereal disease, they'd be lucky.

Severus watched as the carriage barely scrapped past the tops of the trees in the forbidden forest, before the horses landed with an almighty thump about ten feet in front of the crowd of gawking students.

He could literally see the halfwits vibrating with anticipation.

For a few moments nothing moved and Severus felt his scowl deepen. He highly suspected the French school was making their hosts wait in order to give their entrance more drama.

Severus had never met Madame Maxime or any of her students, but he could already tell he was going to hate any interactions he had to have with the stuck up frogs.

The unnatural stillness was broken when the door of the carriage swung open, revealing a stick like youth in a light blue uniform. The boy in question jumped down from the carriage and pulled out a large set of golden steps, before standing to attention like he was waiting for a muggle general to appear.

Severus could feel several students at the back of him pushing to get a better look and he turned around with a glare. The hufflepuff girls that were stood behind him shrunk in on themselves under the ferocity of it.

"Ten points from hufflepuff for shoving a professor. This is not a circus."

The words were hissed at the two third years, and without even needing to be told, the girls quickly shuffled their way to the back of the assembled group.

Severus turned back towards the carriage just in time to see a massive black shoe the size of a small coffee table appear on the golden steps, this was quickly followed by one of the largest women Severus had ever seen.

There was no mistaking that the woman who'd emerged was a half giant. She was even bigger than Hagrid.

Severus heard more than a few gasps, and he prayed to Salazar that no one from his own house made any inappropriate comments.

He had no desire for the tongue lashing he'd receive from Minerva if one of them did.

As it happened one of the little gits did make a comment, though thankfully it wasn't one of his.

It was one of Potters lot, Weasley by the sound of it.

Unlike his brothers, the idiot never did seem to be able to hold his tongue when someone didn't conform to his narrow world view for what was normal.

"Oi, would you look at think they make all French girls that big, or is she a special case do you reckon?"

There were a few snickers from the cluster of students around the imbecile, but Minerva was quick to cut them off.

"Weasley! Five points from Gryffindor."

The large woman appeared to be cautiously assessing the assembled crowd and after a decisive nod she walked forwards.

As she moved away from her carriage, she was bathed in light from the entrance hall, enabling Severus to get a proper look at her for the first time.

He quickly came to the decision that despite her statuesque size, she appeared to be a remarkably well turned out individual.

She was decked head to toe in blue satin; opals glittered at her throat and on her fingers, and her hair was pulled back at the nape of her neck in an elegant bun. Her olive skin was completely free from blemishes and a pair of large, dark, intelligent eyes stared out of her handsome face.

The only detractor that Severus could see was that her nose was slightly beaky, but being who he was he hardly had the right to cast aspersions on others peoples noses.

Minerva walked forwards to greet her guest and at her urging the assembled students began to clap. Though it was so unenthusiastic that they'd have done better to remain silent.

When the two headmistresses finally met, they greeted each other like the old friends they were.

"Mini, Mon cher. I 'ope you are well?".

Minerva graced the woman with a small smile, "Perfectly Olympe. Though I must confess that the Scottish weather isn't doing much for my old bones these days."

The French woman laughed gaily and for the first time since she'd emerged from the carriage, Severus saw her face truly relax.

"Nonsense Mon cher. You are no older than moi. You'd perhaps do well to visit me in France once ze tournament iz over. Ze French summer does wonders for ones bones."

Minerva smiled genially. "I may just take you up on that offer Olympe."

"See that you do. Now perhaps we should get zis underway yes? May I present to you ze best of Beauxbatons."

The headmistress gestured behind her with a hand the size of a dustbin lid and towards a group of around two dozen neatly dressed boys and girls all of whom were in their late teens.

Severus felt a sneer work it's way onto his face when he noticed them all shivering.

What type of idiots had the French headmistress brought with her, that they'd apparently seen no issue with wearing silk uniforms and no cloaks, to a school in the Scottish highlands in late October.

"A fine bunch to be sure Olympe. I'm afraid that karkaroff hasn't yet shown. Would you like to wait and greet him yourself or would prefer to warm up a touch? I can't help but notice your students aren't best disposed for this type of weather."

The headmistress finally seemed to take in the sight of her shivering brood and conceded to Minerva's offer.

"Warm up I think." said the headmistress, but she cast an uncertain look towards the steeds still attached to her carriage. "But ze 'orses do need tending first."

Minerva nodded "Don't worry, I'm sure Hagrid will be delighted to take care of them for you."

Olympe looked thoughtful for a moment. "Agrid? Ze man you 'ave been trying to zet me up..."

Minerva suddenly grew redder than Severus had ever seen her.

"Yes, quite. That Hagrid. He's more than capable of handling them."

The headmistress looked a little doubtful but obviously felt that she should trust her friend.

"Alright, if you inzist, but my steeds do require... er forceful 'andling from time to time. Iz zis 'Agrid really up to ze task."

"I assure you Olympe, Hagrid is more than up to the job."

The headmistress still looked doubtful, but bowed her head slightly in acquiescence.

"Very well. vill you inform zis 'Agrid, zat ze orses only drink single malt whisky."

"I'll be sure to tell him. Now why not get you students inside before they're as blue as their uniforms."

"Zat sounds like a most sensible plan Mini."

The large woman turned towards her pack of quivering students and beckoned them over with a wave of her large hand.

"Come."

Apparently the shivering huddle didn't need to be told twice because they rushed forwards at their headmistresses command, though they settled into a more sedate pace at the woman's glare.

The Beauxbatons delegation approached the entrance, and the Hogwarts students parted like the red sea.

As the small group of shivering blue passed through the mass of curious black, Severus's eye caught on two girls calmly making their way up the back of the group.

Both were in the same attire as their peers, but for some inexplicable reason they seemed to stick out from the crowd more than the others did.

One had her brown hair pulled back at the nape of her neck in a neat ponytail. Her hair was all tight curls and Severus could see a slight pearlessence to the strands as she stepped into the entrance halls light, leading him to believe that her hair was being kept in check by some sort of continental beauty potion.

She didn't seem as bothered by the chill as her companions were and was still talking to her friend as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening.

Despite the fact that he couldn't shake the feeling that he'd seen this random French girl before, it wasn't her that had initially caught his interest.

It'd been her friend.

She didn't seem any more bothered by the chill in the air than her brown haired companion was, but the thing that had made him look twice had been the tumble of dark ginger hair that ended at the base of the girls back.

It shamed him that the first thought he had at the sight of that hair was for his long dead friend, but a closer examination quickly wiped that thought away, this girls hair was much darker than Lily's had ever been, and while his friends had been straight as a die, this girls floated down her back in enticing waves of loose, barely controlled, curls.

After he'd gotten past his initial reaction to this unknown girls hair, his next reaction was one of scorn. The girl was tiny.

If she really was of age (which he had to suspect she was, she wouldn't have gotten past her formidable headmistress otherwise) then she was clearly delusional.

There was no way in hell that this tiny girl would last five minutes if she got picked as champion for a tournament that was, for all intense and purposes, a death sport.

Severus finished watching the two girls follow their fellows into the castle and turned back around to wait for Karkaroff to arrive.

It was just like the slimy bastard to be late.

Severus had no desire to see the man but the sooner he got here, the sooner that Severus could call an end to this farce and go back into the warm castle were he could happily brood into his evening meal.

He suspected that Karkaroff's arrival would be just as ostentatious as the Beauxbatons delegations had been.

Why neither of the visiting schools could just use a portkey like civilised people he had no bloody idea.

As he'd suspected Karkaroff eventually arrived in a completely over the top manner.

Who in their right mind decides it's a good idea to arrive in a galleon that pops up out of the middle of your hosts lake.

The little dunderheads had all been suitably impressed by the display of course.

With the greetings over, Severus had been about to go inside when Karkaroff beckoned someone forwards, a gasp rippled over the assembled crowd and the students started talking to each other in excited whispers.

Severus felt like hitting his head on the stone wall when he saw why.

Apparently Karkaroff wasn't happy enough just brining a bunch of hormone addled teenagers to Hogwarts.

Oh no, he'd decided to go one step further and bring an international quidditch star with him as well.

Harmony wandered into the castle at the back of the group; looking around she could honestly say that while Hogwarts was certainly grand, it was also something of a let down to.

The stories had bigged it up so much that she hadn't really known what to expect, but now that she was here it didn't look all that different to any of the other magnificent castle's that she'd had the privilege of seeing.

Once they entered the great hall though, she thought she might have to change her opinion, just a touch.

There were four long tables, one for each house. While on the tables sat golden plates and goblets that glinted enticingly in the light from the hundreds of floating candles that were dotted around the hall.

But the thing that really took her breath away was the ceiling.

She'd heard about it of course, but to actually see it was something else.

It was projecting a perfect image of the night sky. But unlike the cloudy overcast one outside the enchanted ceiling was depicting a clear night, full of hundreds of twinkling stars.

"Wow."

Harmony knew she sounded a bit breathy, but Hermione didn't bat an eye lid. She just sent a gentle smile her friends way.

"It's certainly something isn't."

"You got that right."

Harmony would've been happy to stand there watching the ceiling for the rest of the night, but a gentle tug on her elbow got her attention.

Looking at Hermione questioningly, she saw her friend gesture at the table where the rest of their school had settled themselves.

"Come on, we need to sit down before the hoards arrive."

"So which house table is this?" said Harmony as they both settled themselves on a bench.

"This is the Ravenclaw's. It's probably the best one to sit at other than the puffs table. The snakes tend to not like anything that isn't pure as the driven snow and the Gryffindors can get very raucous. I don't think Maxime would approve of us sitting over there and frankly I haven't got much desire to see my old... _friends_ tonight."

Harmony who'd been looking around the hall curiously, turned her attention back to her friend. Hermione was radiating so much unease she could've cut it with a knife.

"You know you really didn't need to come with me for this? Not if seeing these idiots again is going to cause you pain. I'd rather have a happy friend in France, than a miserable one at my side."

Hermione smiled at her reassuringly, though it didn't reach her eyes. "I know that, and the fact that I _know_ that means more to me than you probably realise, but I've come to the conclusion that you're not the only one with some demons to slay at this school."

Harmony wrapped her friend in a one armed hug, "Well I suppose as long as we slay them together we should get through it unscathed, yeah?"

Hermione nodded but didn't say anything, the sound of people coming made Harmony release her arm from around her friends shoulders.

The Durmstrang lot entered the hall ahead of the Hogwarts students, and Harmony was amused to note that several of them looked as awed by the ceiling as she'd been, while she could see several of the others inspecting the goblets and plates with approval. She was about to turn her attention away from them, when one particularly large boy in Durmstrang robes caught her attention.

Over near the table on the far side of the room was none other than Viktor Krum.

Harmony stared wide eyed, blindly grasping for her friends arm and giving it a shake to get her attention.

"Mione'. Mione look over there."

Hermione looked over at where her friends eyes were fixed, and felt the reprimand for plucking at her uniform die in her throat.

She couldn't believe her eyes.

The boy they'd both had their very first crushes on was standing right across from them in all his technicolour glory.

Hermione wasn't one for quidditch, but even she couldn't deny a fine specimen of boyhood when she saw one; she was a little ashamed to admit that while Harmony had gotten over her crush on krum rather quickly, Hermione still held quite the flame for the broody quidditch player

Though as he removed his outer furs and sat down, Hermione amended that thought slightly. Viktor Krum was no longer a fine specimen of boyhood.

Oh no, the boy they'd both giggled over in sorcière hebdomadaire now appeared to be nothing but pure man.

Hermione suddenly had the strong urge to check her face for drool.

A discreet wipe proved that she was fine.

With reluctance she pulled her gaze away from the man and forced her attention back onto Harmony. The knowing look on her friends face told Hermione the discreet wipe of her mouth hadn't gone unnoticed.

"Still arse over tit for the broody seeker then."

Hermione slapped Her on the shoulder in mild reprimand, "Ssh, someone might hear you."

Harmony barely resisted rolling her eyes at her cautious friend.

The din in the hall was so loud you'd have been lucky to hear a cannon go off, let alone Harmony speaking about her friends long term crush.

She was about to tell Hermione this, when the feel of someone sitting down made her stop and glance over at the space next to her.

A dark haired girl in Hogwarts uniform had just appeared with her giggly gaggle of friends

Apparently she could sense someone watching her, because she turned away from her friends and greeted Harmony with a grin.

"Welcome to Hogwarts, I hope you have a good time here."

The girl said this all very slowly, like she was talking to a small child or someone with a mental deficiency.

Harmony frowned, she couldn't stand it when people where so patronising to others simply because they thought they were foreign.

"Thank you." Harmony answered in the same slow manner; the girl looked at her with some surprise.

"You're English. I thought Beauxbatons was in France."

Harmony didn't resist rolling her eyes this time.

_Honestly, and they say Ravenclaw's_ _are smart_

"Yes I'm English and yes Beauxbatons is in France. Being one thing doesn't preclude the other you know; besides even if I was French, there's still no need to talk to me like I haven't yet got a basic grasp of language."

Apparently this answer offended the girl quite a bit.

"Well how was I suppose to know you're English, you've just arrived from a French school. I was only trying to be polite"

With a flick of her glossy black hair and a huff of indignation the girl turned back to her gaggle of friends.

Harmony could already see several of them glaring in her direction, so she returned the glares with one of her own; after a few seconds they looked away no longer wanting to meet her eyes.

Perhaps it was a good thing that she hadn't attended Hogwarts, the students here seemed a little touchy.

"No wonder you've never really made any friends Harm."

Harmony looked at her friend with a raised eyebrow. "It's not my fault she didn't think before making assumptions, besides I can't be that bad. _You_ liked me well enough."

"Maybe, but you've got to admit, it wasn't a bad assumption to make and I liked you because you'd just pulled those bullies off me. Who knows, if you hadn't saved me from Fleur et al we might never have become friends."

"Oh I see, so you only wanted me for my heroic skills."

Hermione got an amused glint in her eye. "Of course, didn't you know I only keep you around for your bully repelling abilities."

Harmony's let out a noise of mild indignation, before giving her friend a gentle shove to the shoulder in retaliation.

"That's it, see if I save you from any rampaging cockatrices now."

Hermione placed a hand on her forehead like she was a swooning maiden.

"Oh no, however will I cope."

Harmony gave her another light shove. "Git"

Hermione reciprocated with a light shove of her own.

"Troll."

"Trollop."

"Tramp."

"Bookworm."

"Defence nut."

"Thestrals ars.."

They were just getting into the swing of it when a contemptuous voice interrupted them.

"If ze two of you are quite finished, you are attracting a lot of unvelcome attention with you're juvenile display. You are zeventeen, for zirce's sake, not zeven."

Harmony and Hermione both went red as tomatoes when they realised that Fleur was quite correct. Not about the juvenile display, they often acted like that and chances were they always would, but about the attention they were drawing. More than a few of their table mates were looking at them with poorly hidden curiousity.

She didn't need to see Hermione to know that her friend had shrunk in on herself, a good glare at the busybodies seemed to do the trick and after a couple of seconds they all looked away like the dark haired girls friends had.

Fleur turned away from them with a superior sounding sniff; once more engaging her entourage in a rapid succession of French and a hand waving.

Even with no one looking Hermione was still refusing to unshrink herself and appeared to have bunched her hands in her lap in an effort to stop herself moving.

Harmony reached over and gave her friends hand a gentle squeeze in apology.

She hadn't meant to make them the centre of attention.

After all, she already knew that Hermione wasn't comfortable being back in the school that had essentially chased her away.

She'd only wanted to cheer her up a little, their little tête à têtes usually did the trick, but she'd forgotten that they were in the company of a lot of people that essentially had sticks permanently welded up their arses.

After a few seconds Hermione's hand squeezed back and Harmony felt herself relax just a little.

When she finally managed to catch her friends eye Harmony mouthed a silent apology at her.

Hermione gave her a small smile in return, letting her know that she hadn't screwed up to badly.

She was about to ask Hermione if she was okay when she noticed that the teachers were finally taking their seats.

Harmony knew what was coming next, it was something she'd been dreading all ruddy week.

Right on cue the other Beauxbatons students and Hermione began to rise; waiting for their headmistress to take her seat.

The Hogwarts students started to titter; Harmony would've preferred to stay in her seat, but the knowledge that she had to do this to keep up appearances and the hard kick in her ankle from her friend made her stand up with the rest, even if she was a few seconds slower in doing so.

The headmistress sat and gave them a discreet nod, bringing Harmony's few agonising moments to a blessed end; she slumped down onto the bench before the rest had even moved.

Harmony was pretty sure that her face was as red as her charmed hair, not that the other students seemed to be bothered.

They were so used to sucking up to Maxime that they didn't feel any shame in doing so now.

Harmony had never done it, originally because she wanted to be sent back to England and thought that breaking the unspoken rules might get her her wish; later it'd simply been because she hadn't cared enough to play the game.

She got so lost in sternly reminding her inner rebel that they had no choice but to play the game they both despised until they were officially entered, so that neither James nor Maxime could run them off the grounds, that she didn't notice the Hogwarts Headmistress had begun her welcoming speech.

The jab her friend delivered to her side certainly made her notice though.

"… most particularly to our guests. It's my great pleasure to welcome you to Hogwarts. I hope that you will find your stay here comfortable, but more importantly perhaps I hope you find your stay also enjoyable and educational. The triwizard tournament will be officially opened at the end of the feast, so for now I invite you all to partake in Hogwarts hospitality. Enjoy."

With the end of her speech the Headmistress sat down and the tables started to fill with food.

As soon as Minerva finished her welcoming speech the first thing the Severus did was reach for the tureen of beef stew, before the werewolf at his side could eat the entire thing.

How Severus had ended up sat next to the new Defence professor for the rest of the year, he had no idea.

He'd thought that the mutt would be attached to Potters hip as soon as his position had been announced.

But there seemed to be an odd animosity between the pair that hadn't been there when Severus had last seen them together nearly a decade ago.

As he put the tureen back in it's place he cast a quick glance down the table at Potter. The man in question looked just a stuck up as always, but his devil may care attitude from outside seemed to have disappeared; instead the man looked paler than he'd ever seen him and like his fish had been doused in a few pints of lemon juice.

He also appeared to be glaring at something.

As Severus took a few bites of his meal, he discreetly followed Potters line of sight and found he eyes landing on the back of the French girl he'd spotted earlier.

She was calmly reaching for somthing to eat; apparently completely unbothered by the holes Potter was burning in her back.

Lupin made an odd noise at his side and he removed his gaze from the girl; instead turning his attention to the werewolf. The man had a mostly unreadable expression on his face, but if Severus had to guess, he'd say that the man looked angry?.

Severus felt a frown form on his face as he looked down into his stew in contemplation.

Somthing very odd was going on here.

For as long as Severus had known of Lupin the man never got angry, all he did was keep grinning like a moron while his friends stripped those around them of their dignity.

The thing that was even more peculiar, was that Lupin's anger seemed to be directed at the same girl that Potter was glaring at.

For her part the girl appeared to be as unaware of Lupin's glare as she was of Potter's, but what was it about this girl that attracting the pairs attention. Other than Severus's quick second glance at her hair there appeared to be nothing remotely remarkable about her.

The sound of a chair being roughly pushed back made him look up from his stew.

Potter had dumped his napkin on his half eaten food and was quickly stalking away from his seat.

With a bang the man disappeared through the staff door.

Shaking his head at the man's juvenile behaviour, Severus cast another descreet glance at Lupin; trying gage the man's reaction to his friends abrupt departure.

The wolf looked like he'd aged ten years and had slumped down in his seat as if his strings had been cut.

"What exactly has gotten into your friend Lupin. I know he's got an overinflated belief of his own self importance, but surely even he knows better than to storm out of an official feast just because it takes his fancy."

Lupin looked up from where he was absently stirring the last of the beef stew left in the tureen.

"Sorry Severus, could you repeat that."

Severus sneered. "I didn't give you leave to use my name Lupin. But I asked why your friend just flounced out of here like a jealous six year old."

The werewolf dragged his hand down his face and Severus didn't miss the way his eyes once more strayed to the back of the French girl before answering.

"I've a fair idea. But it's really none of your business Snape, If James wants you to know I'm sure he'll tell you."

Without another glance at the girl, Lupin completely blanked Severus and started eating his meal.

The blunt dismissal left Severus seething.

He hadn't appreciated Lupins tone, and he swore to merlin, if Lupin was covering up some sort of depraved fetish of Potters for the students, Severus would make sure that both men were gone before the year was up.

Though why anyone would have a fetish for the little buggers under their care he had no idea.

It's not like any of them were actually good looking after all.

**Well there we have it folks I hope you've enjoyed the story this far. Hoping to post one chapter a week **

**as long as my schedule permits it. **

**If you see any mistakes ect let me know. I Think I caught all the typos, but those little buggers escape so easily **

**and my new typo traps haven't arrived yet. **

**Hope to see y'all soon Pink x (^^)**


	5. No Longer Out of Sight

The student populous of Hogwarts was much more rowdy than that of Beauxbatons, Harmony decided.

Everywhere she looked people were laughing and joking with each other, and while the Beauxbatons meals were far from silent affairs, they were always held with an impeccable amount of dignity.

So much so in fact, that sometimes Harmony wondered if the academy literally sucked all ability of acting like a child out of the students as soon as they entered its walls.

After all, the way she acted was relatively mild in comparison to some teenagers and yet she was labelled as Beauxbatons rebel child. What else did that say about the academy, other than it being full of people who'd had the will to act their age all but removed.

Feeling her stomach growl, Harmony reached across the table and grabbed for the first thing that smelled decent.

She had no idea what it was though.

It certainly wasn't British and after nearly six years of French cuisine she knew it wasn't that either, placing a small spoonful on her plate she decided it was a rather odd looking dish.

Rice, dried fruit and meat all mixed together, taking a cautious bite, she found it was ever so slightly spicy but remarkably nice. Humming around her mouthful in approval Harmony reached over to begin filling her plate with it.

"Pilaf."

Swallowing her food Harmony gave her friend an odd look.

"Bless you?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "No you dummy, it's the name of what you're eating. You looked a little unsure what it was."

"Oh. Well whatever it is, it's not to bad. Would you like some?"

Hermione shook her head. "No thanks, I've already helped myself to the last of the bouillabaisse."

Harmony gave her a knowing look, "Is that so and I suppose that has nothing to do with the fact that it's Fleur's favourite food."

"I have no idea what you mean." Said Hermione with an air of fake innocence and a dignified sniff that reminded Harmony of the girl in question.

Hermione's eye caught hers and try as they might neither could hold back their childish giggle's.

Harmony had just managed to calm herself, when the sound of a door banging shut made her and several others look towards the end of the hall.

"It appears that Professor Potter has finally noticed your arrival Harm."

She looked at her friend quizzically and Hermione discreetly nodded her head at the empty space at the staff table.

"It might not have been James, maybe someone just left to go to the toilet or something."

Hermione shook her head. "No, Professor Potter was definitely sat there. I noticed him during Headmistress Mcgonagall's speech."

"I didn't see him."

Hermione gave her friend an exasperated look, "Of course you didn't. You were to busy lost in your own head. I don't suppose you've noticed who else is at the staff table either."

"Who?"

Hermione pointed towards the other end of the table.

"Remus!"

Her pseudo godfathers name left her lips a little louder than she intended and she earned herself more curious looks from those around her. Lowering her voice she lent closer to Hermione.

"What the hell is he doing here. He never said he'd gotten a job at Hogwarts. The last time he wrote to me he was having problems getting a job in a book binders, let alone a bloody school."

"I think you're going to have to ask him that yourself."

Harmony slumped in her seat and lightly bashed her head on the table, only just avoiding putting it in her pilaf in the process.

"What's wrong? I would've thought you'd be happy to see Remus."

Harmony turned her head to the side and looked at her friend.

"I am. But think about it, he's going to be so pissed once he realises I'm here for the tournament. You know the way he can be. Overprotective werewolf doesn't even cover it, or have you forgotten the fit he pitched when Sirius gave me my motorbike last year."

Hermione glanced towards the werewolf who was too busy eating to notice Her scrutiny. "Okay, he might be a little upset, but you know Remus. He cares for you an awful lot, he won't remain sore with you for long. I'm sure of it."

"Ya think?"

Hermione gave her a small smile and gently ran a soothing hand down her friends back

"I'm positive, unless you go and get yourself killed or something of course. In which case Remus's reaction will be the least of your worries because I'll bring you back and kill you myself."

Harmony gave her friend a half smile. "Lovely. I really hope you're right about Remus though. I can't stand the thought of him being angry with me, he's the closest thing I have to a parent these days. I mean I wasn't even going to tell him I was entering the tournament lest it give him a heart attack or something." Harmony huffed out a sigh and picked her head up off the table; sitting up straight once more.

"Well I suppose there's nothing much I can do about it now." She said morosely; deciding that in the face of this new revelation she really needed the comfort that only chocolate could provide.

Pushing her pilaf aside Harmony gestured to the decadent chocolate cake sat in front of them.

"Fancy a piece of cake?".

Her friends face screwed up in clear indecision, but apparently the temptation of the sweet treat was to great and Hermione gave a small smile of agreement. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt. But only one piece. I really should be watching my sugar intake you know."

Harmony already had a piece half way to her mouth when she answered her friend. "What, chocolate contains sugar. I never would've guessed."

"Idiot." Hermione said affectionately as she flicked a decorative sugar flower at Harmony's head.

Neither of them managed to stick to having just a single piece of cake, and between them they managed to demolish a sizeable portion of the decadent confection.

"I am so stuffed. I've definitely eaten far to much of that cake"

Harmony looked over at her friend and resisted the urge to groan aloud. "Me too, it's a good thing I'm supposed to be training in the morning."

"You're still doing that then."

"Got no choice really, if I'm not up to scratch at the end of the year, there'll be no apprenticeship for me. You know the way Eddy is, she'll take one look at me when I next see her and be able to tell not just how many minutes of training I've missed, but on exactly what days I missed them too."

"But what happens if you get picked? You can't keep up that type of stringent training schedule if you're champion."

Harmony was about to answer when a snort and a haughty voice stopped her.

"If you think zat zis judge will pick you over someone like moi, zen you need your 'ed examined mon amie."

Harmony and Hermione looked over at the platinum blond girl who was giving them a superior look.

"I don't recall either of us asking for your opinion Fleur, or has all that air in your head finally effected your hearing as well as your ability to think." Hermione said; directing a glare at the girl.

The haughty girl looked rather flustered by Hermione's remark and was clearly about to say something back to her, but Harmony interceded with a glare of her own. Cutting the cow off before she could start one of her patented rants.

"Personally I would say if this judge picks _you_ then _they_ need their head examined. Now correct me if I'm wrong but my friend is right. I was having a private conversation with her before you decided to stick your overlarge nose where it isn't wanted, so why not butt the fuck out."

Apparently this was more than the girl could take and she began to rant at them in rapid French.

"Petite garce insolente! À qui crois-tu que tu parles! Madame Maxime va en entandre parl.."

Fleurs vaguely impressive rant was cut off by the sound of someone tapping their cutlery against their glassware.

The silence was immediate and as Hogwarts headmistress rose from her seat, every single one of the students turned to look at the staff table expectantly.

A pleasant sort of tension settled over the hall as the students waited for the her to talk.

To Harmony it felt very similar to that special type of feeling you got on christmas morning, when you were yet to open your presents but you knew it wouldn't be long until you found out what your surprise was.

Even Fleur had dropped her raging bitch act, in anticipation of what was to come, and was looking as eager as everyone else.

Seeing all the expectant faces, the elderly headmistress gave the assembled students an indulgent smile.

"Now that you've all enjoyed the excellent feast, I have a few introductions to make before I can officially open The Triwizard Tournament. Firstly let me introduce Miss Cynthia Spellman, head of the department of International Magic Co-operation."

At the headmistresses gesture, a lanky woman with thin blond hair stood from her seat at the end of the table. She gave the students a wide smile and an overenthusiastic wave, which was met with a smattering of lack lustre applause.

"And may I also introduce the main instigator of the tournament, Mister Hamish MacFarlan. Head of the department for Magical Games and Sport, as well as former captain for the Montrose Magpies."

This announcement was met with much more enthusiastic applause.

Whether this was because he was a former famous quidditch player, or simply because he'd helped bring the tournament to Hogwarts Harmony wasn't sure.

"Mr MacFarlan and Miss Spellman have both worked tirelessly over the past few months, to ensure that the triwizard tournament of 1997 will be one of the most spectacular since it's instigation in 1294, while also remaining one of the safest since being discontinued in 1792. They will also be helping Judge the champions efforts, during the three tasks that will happen over the course of the next school year, along side myself, Madam Maxime."

The headmistress gestured to the half giant on her right who bestowed the students with a regal wave. "And Professor Karkaroff." The man gave a solemn nod from his place at her left.

"Now that the introductions are out of the way, I believe the time has finally come. Mr Filch, the casket please."

Harmony watched as a man in a mouldy tail coat stepped out of a darkened corner and began to approach the staff table. His arms were laden down with a large wooden box, that was encrusted with all sorts of jewels that danced merrily in the candlelight.

Harmony could certainly believe that something that looked so old, could contain a magical object with a Geasan as bloodthirsty as the one they'd read about.

At the sight of the casket a frisson of excitement shot through the students, and just because Harmony didn't think she had a hope in hell of being picked, didn't mean she didn't get the same excited feeling as everyone else did at the abstract thought of being so.

As the filthy looking man placed the extravagant box on the staff table the headmistress went into a deeper explanation of the tournament.

"This tournament has been reinstated in the hope of strengthening international relations. As such, and in a break from tradition, each schools governing body has been tasked with coming up with one task to represent their country or school to the best of it's ability, while at the same time testing the champions; daring, powers of deduction, magical prowess and of course their ability to cope with extreme danger."

The last word seemed to make the hall hold it's breath as they waited for the headmistress to continue.

"As I'm sure most of you are aware, only one champion can be picked to represent each school in the tournament by the impartial judge. However what I'm sure most of you are not aware of is just what that Judge is."

Harmony didn't miss the fact that the headmistress said _what,_ and not _who._

As the woman opened the casket with a flick of her wand, Harmony was expecting to see some sort of ancient parchment that all the expectant entrants had to write their name on.

She certainly wasn't expecting the headmistress to levitate a small roughly hewn wooden goblet out of the casket.

A goblet that would've looked wholly unremarkable if it wasn't for the fact that it was filled with ice blue fire that danced along its rim.

As the headmistress gently set the ancient object down in the centre of the table, the hall erupted in whispers.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present to you The Goblet of Fire."

The whispers started to get louder, but the headmistress held up a single hand and the hall went eerily silent.

"Before everyone becomes even more enthralled by the thought of entering the tournament. I first have a few words of wisdom to impart to all those who see themselves as would be champions. This tournament, though greatly improved from centuries past, is still incredibly dangerous and not something to enter lightly. If you are not wholly prepared to forfeit your life in the pursuit of glory I would strongly suggest that you do not enter yourself."

Harmony could see that this warning seemed to penetrate more than a few students skulls, because many of those that had previously looked eager now looked wary and unsure.

The headmistresses warning didn't change Harmony's perspective in the slightest, the books had revelled in the gory details of the past tournaments and both her and Hermione were fully prepared for what the tasks could do to them if they were to be picked and fail.

"Secondly, as that warning will doubtless be useless to some of my more eager students, please be aware that no one under the age of Seventeen will be permitted to enter and an age line will be drawn around the goblet to ensure that no one."

The headmistress paused and sent a significant look towards a table that had more than a few mutinous looking students sat at it.

"Will yield to temptation and place their name in the goblet despite their lacking age. All those of age that still wish to enter, despite my warnings, must clearly write their full names and their school on a piece of parchment and drop it into the enchanted flames. The Goblet will be placed in the entrance hall and will be freely available to any who meet the requirements that have been set for the next twenty four hours."

Mcgonagall paused briefly, unwittingly crancking up the halls tension by several notches.

"Tomorrow night, the Goblet will provide us with the names of the three entrants it has judged most worthy of the position of champion. Please remember what I have said and I ask once more that if you wish to enter, that you look deep inside yourself before submitting your name and make sure this is what you truly want. There is no possibility of reneging on the contract once you've been chosen as champion."

The headmistress looked more solemn than Harmony had seen her all evening and her students seemed to be finally grasping the fact that this tournament wasn't going to end up being like a glory seeking quidditch match, this was much more serious.

As the uneasy whispers began to circulate around the room, the headmistress clapped her hands together and silence reigned once more.

"Now I do believe that it's time that we all took to our beds for the evening. Goodnight to you all."

With those parting words the mass exodus of the students began and soon the hall looked like nothing more than a sea of writhing black. The Beauxbatons students remained seated, having no intention of leaving until they were told to by their headmistress.

Harmony noticed that the Durmstrang students were also waiting for their headmaster to collect them before getting up to leave.

Karkaroff bustled over to them once the hall was mostly empty.

Harmony watched as the man bypassed his other students without even so much as a glance and yet as soon as he reached Krum the man seemed to be all but kissing the boys shoes. Harmony frowned at the display, what was it with people always picking favourites. Why couldn't teachers just treat their students with equal respect or equal contempt, these types of displays always got on her nerves.

As Maxime approached them, everyone rose from the table and began to follow her back to the carriage.

It made Harmony sick to have to walk around like some dutiful little sycophant, but at least her co towing would be at an end this time tomorrow.

Up front Maxime and Fleur were discussing something.

She'd bet her broom it was to do with what she'd said to the stupid bitch.

They'd just walked through the main doors and out into the grounds where the carriage had been set up, when Harmony realised that her hair seemed to be being blown into her face an awful lot. She tried to pull her hat further onto her head only to find that the item in question wasn't there at all.

_Damn it, I must've left it at the table._

Maxime would have her head on a platter if she found out she'd lost a piece of her uniform, and she couldn't afford for that to happen. Not until she was entered into the tournament at any rate. The cow could rant at her as much as she liked once she couldn't get rid of her.

Coming to a stop Harmony quickly pulled Hermione off to the side.

"Harm, what on earth are you.."

"I've left my hat behind, I'll have to go back and get it. I need you to go back to the carriage with everyone else and try and keep Maxime from noticing my absence. Hopefully I should be able to get my hat and get back before she wards the rooms shut for the night."

Hermione looked doubtfully towards the retreating figures of their school. She couldn't see Harmony getting back in time, the rest of them were already at the carriage as it was.

"Okay I'll try and keep her from noticing. If the wards do go up, I'll have to wedge our window open or something. You know which one it is right?"

Harmony nodded. "Yeah, it's the third one to the left on the side facing the forest. You better go otherwise Maxime will notice us both missing."

Hermione gave her friends hand a squeeze, before rushing off after the rest of the Beauxbatons students.

Harmony watched her friend go, before releasing a breath.

Nothing was ever simple for her was it.

Turning around Harmony walked back towards the main entrance and re-entered the legendary school; as she did so she took her time to take in the little details that made up Hogwarts.

There were suits of Armour and tapestries lining the walls, carvings and grotesques were chisled into the stones that lined the edge of the ceiling and a little further up she could just see the fabeled set of glittering hourglasses the contained the house points.

Making her way back into the great hall and along the tables she spotted her hat almost immediately, it was tucked partially beneath the bench that she'd been sat on.

With a wry shake of her head she bent down to pick it up.

Shaking out her hair, Harmony couldn't resist taking one last look at the enchanted ceiling as she placed her hat on her head. The magical sky looked just as enchanting as it had when she'd looked at it earlier in the evening.

With a happy hum, she looked away and turned to leave, only to bump into something that hadn't been there a few moments prior.

The happy feeling that the ceiling had induced fled.

As she came face to face with a seething James Potter.

**Soo..er.. hope you enjoyed this chapter.. fastens helmet picks up riot shield.. and I'll see Y'all soon..**

** Bye!**


	6. No longer out of mind

Severus grumbled to himself as he levitated the heavy casket out into the entrance hall.

All he'd wanted to do was go back to his quarters pour himself a large glass of sloe gin and finally sit down to read his potion masters quarterly in peace. But no, Minerva, the sanctimonious old tabby, just had to grab him before he could escape down to the dungeons with the rest of the Slytherin and demand that he install the bloody age line for her.

_And why can't she do it_, Severus thought sourly, _because she's to bloody busy schmoozing with the foreigners, to put the protections in place that she insisted on._

_Honestly, she could have gotten bloody Potter or the Werewolf to do it. But of course she wouldn't want to put any unreasonable demands on her precious Gryffindors time._

_After all, she didn't even see fit to have a bloody_ _go at_ _Potter for storming out of the feast like some sort of fucked up toddler. So why would she bothe- _

Severus's thoughts were abruptly cut short by the sound of footsteps approaching. There was no way it was Minerva coming back and the gait sounded wrong to be one of his other colleagues. Narrowing his eyes, Severus gently set the casket down and cast a silent disillusionment charm over himself.

If, as he suspected, it was one of the students then he'd be able to catch the little bugger like a fly in a spiders web, and in the unlikely event that it was one of his colleagues the disillusionment would mean they wouldn't see him stood here and think it gave them free reign to stand there and talk his ear off for the rest of the bloody night.

The footsteps drew closer and Severus braced himself to pounce, in the end it turned out to be neither a colleague nor a Hogwarts student.

He couldn't make out the persons face since the torches in the corridor were creating to many shadows. But the uniform and the hair were unmistakable, even if Severus had only set eyes on them for the first time a few hours prior.

It was the chit that Lupin and Potter had been glaring at.

With a huff of annoyance Severus watched the girl enter the great hall. He would've loved nothing more than to give the big headed little madam the dressing down she undoubtedly deserved for wandering around her hosts school like she owned the place, but he didn't for two very good reasons.

One he had absolutely no idea what punishment power, if any, he had over the foreign students, and two he had no desire to get into some sort of debate with a girl who likely couldn't speak a word of English; he _did_ want to get back to his rooms at some point that night.

He'd have to question Minerva about what could be done to the foreign students if they were caught breaking Hogwarts rules. He didn't like the thought of them getting off scott free simply because this wasn't their school.

With a grimace at the mere thought of the chaos these new little buggers could cause if they were allowed to wander around unchecked, Severus resolutely pushed the French girl to the back of his mind and set in on the task at hand.

If he was quick, he could probably get this age line set up in less than ten minutes.

He'd just managed to place the last of the foundation spells when a commotion in the great hall drew his attention.

With a frown Severus moved away from the casket and stalked towards where the shouting was coming from.

He was about to enter the great hall and investigate, when two figures emerging from it's entrance nearly bowled him over.

He could feel the retort on the tip of his tongue, telling them to watch where the bloody hell they were going, when he remembered he hadn't removed the disillusionment charm yet; they couldn't see him.

He could use this to his advantage.

Standing still Severus took stock of what he was witnessing. Potter for some unknown reason was attempting to drag the French girl down the entrance hall and towards the main doors that led outside.

The girl didn't look at all pleased with the way that Potter was manhandling her and was trying to pull back even as Potter tried to march forwards.

"Let me the fuck go! Now, you fucking arsehole!"

If Severus hadn't been surprised by the language, he certainly would've been by the voice. The Beauxbatons girl was English.

"You need to watch your mouth and remember who the fuck you're talking to Harmony."

So Potter _did_ know the girl, Severus had suspected as much from the glaring during the feast, but to have it confirmed made something inside him seethe.

"No I fucking don't, and why the fuck should I remember who I'm talking to. You've not spoken to me in fucking ages. You've not even sent me a fucking letter you bastard. And I said to let me the fuck go!"

The girl curled a hand around the one Potter had clamped over her arm; before Severus could wonder how she was expecting to dislodge Potters white knuckled grip, the girls hand was encased in white purple light.

With a howl of pain Potter released his hold on her.

Severus was grudgingly impressed. He knew that spell and it's less than light connotations, but the question was how did she?

The girl certainly had some tenacity about her, Severus would give her that. Though the fact that she might well be in some sort of illicit relationship with Potter knocked his estimation of her down a few notches.

Potter stumbled away from the girl clutching at his hand; promptly falling to the floor when his foot caught on a plinth holding a suit of armour. Severus found the whole thing rather amusing and would've laughed out right if it would not have broken his cover prematurely.

The girl hadn't run away once Potter had fallen, all she'd done was back away slightly before giving the man a rather spectacular glare.

Potter glared right back and managed to pull himself to his feet after grabbing onto the armour support. He moved towards the uncowed girl with his face set in a manner that Severus had known well as a teenager. It was a look he'd often donned just before he and his sycophant minions had beaten the ever loving shit out him.

Severus fingered his wand, waiting to see if he'd need to intervene. He could certainly fault the girl if she _had_ entered into a relationship with the fathead, but he wasn't about to stand by and let her get beaten six ways to Sunday just because she'd made a bad choice.

He'd witnessed enough of that during his childhood.

"Now you listen to me Harmony. You've caused endless trouble in France and I won't have you doing the same type of shit here. This is where I work for fuck sake, and I won't have you bringing shame on the Potter name simply because you don't no how the fuck to act like an adult. First thing in the morning I will be making sure that you are sent straight back to that school and I don't want to hear a word from you about it."

With each new sentence Potter had gotten closer to the girl, until the last few words were more or less spit being spit in her eyes.

Severus truly had to admire her gumption, even with the volatile man right in her face she appeared to be giving no thought to backing down.

With a shove she managed to push Potter a few scant inches out of her personal space.

"No I won't fucking listen. Let's be honest this has got shit all to do with what _'trouble'_ I supposedly cause. I've acted the same way for years and I've never heard so much as a peep about it from you. No, this is about the fact that a grown fucking man still a slave to his fucking grief after sixteen bloody years and is choosing to take it out on me instead. Well I've got news for you James Potter, I ain't going back to fucking France, I'm staying right fucking here. You need to learn that just because you want to put me out of mind, doesn't give you the fucking right to put me out of sight as well."

Potters face scrunched up in pure rage, apparently what the girl had said had been to much for the irate man's temper and Severus saw him lift a hand as if readying himself to hit her.

Severus had seen enough and stepped towards the pair as he removed the spell that was hiding him from them.

In a slow deliberate drawl Severus made his presence known.

"Potter, I know you have no idea how act around visitors. But do you not think this is going a little to far even by your, admittedly, low standards. I would strongly suggest that you and your paramour move your little tête à tête or whatever this is to a more private location. Preferably one that's far enough away that I will not be forced to endure the rest of the drivel that will inevitably leave your pompous mouth."

As he'd hoped, revealing his presence took Potter's focus away from the girl.

When Potter turned towards him, the man's face was still twisted in anger and his eyes were mere pinpricks behind his round lenses.

The waft coming from him, told Severus that Potter had been drinking since he'd left the great hall. He was clearly inebriated, but was still in obvious control of his faculties. But, as Severus knew well from his childhood, drunks that still had the ability to think were very dangerous individuals once they were angered.

With this thought in mind, he kept his wand held loosely in his hand in case Potter decided to go further than simply shouting at the girl and trying once more to do something a little more physical to her.

"What the fucks it got to do with you Snivellus."

Severus kept his face blank at the use of his much loathed nickname, Potter was likely trying to get a rise out him and he wasn't going to take the bait.

"I'm having a private conversation so piss off."

Severus sneered at the inebriated man.

"Private, Potter." He spat. "With the racket you two were making, I'm surprised that the rest of the castle hasn't come to investigate. But frankly that is neither here nor there. I couldn't give a crap if you were to wake the whole of Hogsmead with your pitiful arguing. However, what I _do_ care about is that your actions towards a visiting student could cast serious aspersions on this school."

Potter gave a nasty snort.

"Yeah right you just want to stick your nose in where it's not fucking wanted. Well I've got news for you Snivellus, this visiting student is my fucking daughter so I'll treat her however the fuck I want. Or has your nose gotten so fucking big that you can no longer see a cheap imitation of Lily when ones standing right under it."

Potter clearly hadn't put enough distance between himself and the girl when he'd turned to confront Severus, because as soon as the horrid statement left the man's lips the resounding smack of skin against skin echoed around the otherwise empty corridor.

Potters head swung to the side as the girls slender hand made contact with the pompous mans cheek.

Time seemed to slow, and for the first time Severus got a good look at the girl, and he really had to wonder what exactly Potter was seeing. The man was clearly delusional, because he could vividly remember Lily as a teenager and this girl looked nothing like her.

Lily had always been a perfectly average looking girl, no less beautiful for it, but certainly average.

The two things that had made Lily truly stand out from the crowd had been her hair and eyes.

Lily's hair had been such a vibrant ginger that he was always reminded Severus of leaves in the grip of autumn.

This girls hair was, as he'd summarised when he'd first seen her, much darker than Lily's had been. Hers was so dark in fact that it almost bordered an auburn instead of ginger, and while her eyes were striking, even those weren't anything like the ones Lily had been blessed with.

Lily's eyes had looked like grass green almonds set in her unobstructed oval face.

This girls eyes were no less extraordinary than her mothers had been. But they looked more otherworldly than Lily's had, they were absinthe green and flecked with gold that looked like it had been forged by the goblins themselves.

Unfortunately the wide down turned eyes were obscured by a pair of hideous square spectacles that did nothing for the girls delicate heart shaped face.

The two woman couldn't even be compared by their stature, Lily had been slightly above average height and had been only a little shorter than Potter.

But her daughter was an almost text book definition of petite. She was so much shorter than Potter in fact, that she'd had to reach up to slap him. Something that Lily would've never had to have done.

Though he had to admit, the blow she'd delivered to Potters face belied her size and Severus had to wonder where her tiny frame stored the strength that she used to hit the man with.

Belatedly he realised that he'd started taking stock of the girl like she was a cow up for auction, but thankfully his inventory had gone unnoticed.

Potter was now groping at his bright red cheek and glaring daggers at the girl as she backed away from the man in question.

With one last look of utter disdain the girl turned her back on Potter and started stalking off down the corridor, her small heels clicking angrily on the stone floor as she did so.

Apparently Potter just didn't know when to leave well enough alone however, and shouted after the girl.

"Harmony Potter. Get back here right now! If you think for one fucking second that you can hit your father and get away with it then you've got another thing coming. I suggest you don't unpack because I swear to merlin I will make sure you are out of this castle by tomorrow lunch time for that stunt alone."

The girl stopped and turned around to face them once more.

Severus could no longer see her face; she was once more ensconced in shadows cast by the torches. But if the way her hands were clenched into a pair of shaking fists at her side was any indication, then the girl would've given Potter another smack if she'd been close enough to deliver it.

When she spoke her voice was deadly calm, it was almost unnerving in someone who appeared to let their emotions rule them.

"I'm going to say this once, and only once. You are not my fucking father. You lost the right to that title when you fucking abandoned me! You have no say over what I do or do not fucking do any more. By lunch time tomorrow not even your headmistress will be able to kick me out of this fucking school so I suggest you either stay the fuck away from me or learn to act like a sodding adult."

With those slightly odd parting words the girl strode through the open doorway and out in the freezing night.

The cold night air hit Harmony full force as she walked with purpose out of the main doors and away from the man who still held so much power over her emotional state. James' words had hurt her in a way she'd thought the man could no longer achieve.

_Cheap_ _imitation of Lily _

Harmony swiped her fingers angrily beneath her frames, she could feel the tears trying to fall, but she refused let them.

Four tiny words, that's all it apparently took to break through six years of emotional detachment.

_Cheap_ _imitation of Lily. Cheap_ _Imitation of Lily. Cheap_ _Imitation…_

Try as she might she couldn't stop the words from circulating around her skull like a song you couldn't get out of your head. She'd always suspected that James had exiled her for her looks, it was the only explanation that she'd been able to come up with really, but to actually hear the confirming words from the man she'd once trusted implicitly stung like she couldn't believe.

Harmony wasn't sure how she got back to the carriage, but one moment she was walking down the steps, and the next she was standing in front of the monstrosity Maxime insisted on traveling in. Her eyes were streaming despite her denied consent and she swiped at them once more before skirting around the edge of the carriage until she faced the forest.

It looked incredibly eerie in the dark; she would've loved to have gone exploring if she hadn't felt so wrung out. As it was she thought it would be best to leave the exploring for another day.

_If you're here another day. What if James goes to the headmistress before you can put your name in the Goblet. What __will__ you do then? You did slap the bastard after all, he could get you removed from Hogwarts for that_._ Maxime is already willing to remove you for less_.

Harmony ruthlessly stamped on that thought. What's done was done and there was no use worrying about something that she was likely to do again if she was given half the chance.

After a couple of minutes she came across the window to her and Hermione's room. True to her word her friend had left the window open just a crack and the wards had been unable to seal the room properly.

Tugging on the stiff frame Harmony opened it just enough for her to slip in, hauling herself up onto the ledge she slipped first one leg and then the other through the frame until both of them were resting on the seat that was placed just under the window.

As she began to manoeuvrer the rest of her body through the small gap, Hermione looked up from where she was sat on her bed, wrapped in a heather grey quilt and reading a well thumbed copy of Jane Eyre. Seeing her friend finally returning she set the book down and went over to help her through the window.

"I was wondering were you'd gotten to. Couldn't you- Harmony what's wrong you look like you're crying."

Harmony swiped her fingers under her glasses once more in a futile attempt to wipe the traces of tears from her face. She was not going to let that man do this to her, not again. Hearing the worry in Hermione's voice she tried to reassure her, but even Harmony could hear how thick her voice sounded.

"I'm fine Mione', just got a bit lost is all. Nothing wrong."

Hermione crossed her arms over her chest and glared at her friend. "Nice try, but I know something's happened. First off you've been gone a lot longer than it should take to simply find a hat, and now you're back you're trying remove traces of tears from your face. So what's wrong?"

Her friend may have been clad in nothing but a pair of blue flannel pyjamas, but at that moment she looked like a lioness ready to defend her cubs.

With a groan Harmony sunk down onto the plush seat and pulled her knees up under her chin, it was no use trying to lie to Hermione. Not like it ever worked anyway.

Burying her face in her legs Harmony took a deep breath. "I slapped James. I'll be in so much trouble when Maxime finds out."

"What do you mean you slapped James. How on earth were you close enough to him to hit him. You said you were going to get your hat! Not track down your father."

Harmony lifted her head a little. "He's not my-"

Hermione left out an exasperated huff. "Father. I know, but still, to go and track him down. Surely you knew it would end in confrontation."

Harmony mumbled something into her legs that Hermione didn't quite catch. "What was that?"

"I said I didn't track him down, he must've seen me going back into the great hall or something because when I turned to leave he was stood right there."

"How is that possible Harmony, you know as well as I do he'd left the feast long before we did. There'd be no way he could've seen you coming back, and I can't see him just hanging around the shadows on the off chance you might return. He's a wanker, not a vampire."

Harmony squeezed her eyes shut and pushed her face harder into her knees. "Look I don't know. Maybe he's got some sort of spy glass or something hooked up in there. All I know is that I put my hat on my head and when I turned around he was stood right there, looking absolutely furious."

"Okay fine so we don't know how he knew you were there, but just because he looked furious and was laying in wait for you is no reason to slap him. You knew he wasn't going to be best pleased to see you, his walk out at the feast demonstrated that."

"I didn't slap him."

"But you said-"

"I did slap him it just wasn't then, he wanted to know what I was doing at Hogwarts."

_'What the fuck do you think you're doing here you stupid little bitch_'

"He smelled like he'd been drinking, but I wasn't scared of him so I told him I was here to enter the tournament; he didn't appreciate my answer."

_'You'll be doing no such fucking thing. You are not staying in this school I want you out. Now._'

"He grabbed me around the arm; started dragging me out of the hall. I was so shocked; I didn't do anything when he first grabbed me, but once my brain kicked in and I realised I was just letting him do what he wanted. I started trying to pull out of his grip; started shouting at him to let me the fuck go."

Hermione noticed her friend subconsciously rubbing at her arm, and frowned. "So that's why you slapped him? Because he was hurting you?"

"No, I kept shouting and trying to wiggle free, but he'd tightened his grip so much I had no chance of wrenching myself loose. Much less being able to turn enough to smack him in the face"

"Can I see." Harmony looked up from her knees questioningly. "Your arm, you appear to be in some discomfort." Hermione clarified.

When her friend nodded, Hermione moved forwards and gently lifted the sleeve on the arm that Harmony was holding out to her. Rolling back the cuff to just passed her elbow, showed a ring of angry red skin that was sure to be purpling by morning.

Hermione ran a gentle finger over the painful looking area and felt her friend flinch at the slight touch. "You need to report this."

Harmony shook her head and rolled the sleeve back down. "It looks worse than it is, besides if I report it they'll want to know how I got him to back off and the method I used is just a little bit.. well not illegal.. but certainly frowned upon in magical Britain."

Hermione gave her friend a look. "What did you do."

Harmony shrugged a little, resting her chin on her knees and not looking at her friend.

"Nothing major, I just gave the dickhead a little sting from a minor purpura fulgur, that's all."

"Harmony!"

"What! It's not like he was going to let go otherwise, and besides I made sure not to put a lot of energy into it. I do know even wankers shouldn't be burnt to a crisp. You should've heard the sound he made though, howled like a good un when it made contact."

Hermione sniffed, but didn't admonish her friend again. "Its hardly surprising, I've seen you turn targets into ash using that spell."

"Yeah well, like I said, I _do_ know even wankers shouldn't be burnt to a crisp."

Hermione rubbed at her forehead as if she was getting a headache.

"Okay, I can understand you doing that, but if you got him to let go why did you hit him as well. Why not just walk away."

Harmony clasped her hands over the top of her head and leaned back into the seat as she screwed her eyes shut.

"I had a couple of seconds where I could've done. I just.. I thought I'd look a coward or like I was scared of him or something if I walked away and I didn't want him thinking has any sort of power over me. So I stayed put and glared at him while he scrabbled up off the floor; once he was up I wouldn't have had a choice either way. He just started advancing on me with this really horrid look on his face, saying the most ridiculous shit while doing so."

"Like what?"

"Oh you know, that I'm trouble and that he didn't want me here shaming the Potter name, especially not in the place he works. That he was going to make sure I was back in France first thing tomorrow."

Hermione nodded in understanding. "So essentially sidestepping the whole issue of why he doesn't want you here, but still managing to find a way to blame you for his short comings."

Harmony let out a dry snort at her friends rather simple assessment of the whole shit fest.

"Basically yeah, I wasn't going to let him get away with that though. I told him, that him not wanting me in the school had fuck all to do with my behaviour, and that it wasn't my fault that he's still a slave to his fucking grief.. oh and I told him I wasn't going back to fucking France either. It was sort of cathartic in a way."

"I can imagine. Though I expect he didn't take your mouthing off very well." said Hermione knowingly.

"Not really no, he looked so fucking angry. I honestly thought he was going to hit me."

"He didn't, did he?" Hermione asked worriedly.

Harmony shook her head. "No, I'm sure he was going to but we were interrupted by this man who just sort of appeared out of thin air and James started having a go at him instead."

"Man? Do you know who it was? What did he look like?" asked Hermione in quick succession

Harmony went over her memory of the man, trying to get a clearer picture of him. All she could remember clearly was a lot of black, a pair of piercing eyes and one other thing that hadn't failed to catch her attention.

"Well, he was certainly wearing a lot of black and his hair was longish, that was black to and he had this really prominent -"

"Nose?" Harmony pulled her head of the back of the seat and glanced at her friend quizzically.

"Yeah, how did you-"

"Its Professor Snape."

"Snape?"

"Oh honestly, do you never listen. I've told you this a hundred times, Professor Snape is the head of Slytherin house and also a world class potions master. Though I have to say his personality leaves a great deal to be desired. He's quite the bully where the students are concerned, although he is a little easier on his snakes. Not that I can blame him for that, the rest of the school has more or less painted a target on their backs, not that they really help themselves of course."

Harmony gave her friend a 'get to the point' look and Hermione pinked a little.

"So yes anyway, Snape is a bully and doesn't ever help anyone as far as I know, but I do know he has a particularly strong loathing for Professor Potter, according to the gossip it's something to do with Lil... er an old friend of his."

"You were going to say Lily, weren't you."

Hermione grimaced. "Maybe?"

Harmony groaned and thumped her head into the seat a few times for good measure. "That bloody woman, why is everyone is this sodding country obsessed with her."

"Not everyone is. But anyway what did Snape do."

"Nothing much, just sort of drew James into a shouting match; he seemed to be under the bizarre impression that we were dating."

"You and Snape?"

"No me and James." At Hermione's incredulous look Harmony snorted.

"I know right, not a pretty picture in the slightest is it"

Hermione shuddered. "I'm going to need brain bleach to get rid of that metal image."

"You and me both." Said Harmony with a slight smile.

"So what happened, I take it professor Potter put him right."

Harmony smile vanished; she looked down at her knees again and began picking at a loose thread on the edge of her cuff.

"Harmony?"

"Yeah he let Snape know I was his daughter.. well more like let him know I was his property. In his words. 'my fucking daughter so I'll treat her however the fuck I want'."

Hermione leaned forwards and clasped Harmony's hands in her own stopping her friend from playing with her loose thread and forcing her to look up.

"I'm sorry he said something so horrid about you Harm."

Harmony shook her head and a sad grimace graced her lips, Hermione didn't like that fact that she could see tears gathering in her friends eyes again.

"Harm? Did he say something else?"

Harmony nodded but didn't elaborate.

"What?"

Taking in a juddering breath, Harmony realised that her chest felt like it was trapped in a vice and she could feel tears welling up again. Why were these insignificant words effecting her so badly.

"He said I was...a..a..cheap…"

"He said you were a cheap what."

Harmony took another deep breath and tried again. "He said.. of course I was his daughter… or couldn't the man recognise a ch..cheap.. imitation..of..L..Lily."

With the utterance of those words Harmony couldn't hold back the emotions they evoked any more and broke down into heart wrenching sobs.

Hermione quickly gathered her friend in her arms, and tried to calm her down. Her best friend sounded like her soul was being ripped in two and Hermione had no idea what to do, other than rock her and wait for her to let all the pain out.

It took a while but eventually Harmony's crying stopped and her hitching breathing evened out into a normal rhythm once more.

Hermione thought she might've fallen asleep and was just contemplating what the best solution was to get her onto one of the beds, when her friend moved out of her arms and began wiping at her face with the tissues Hermione had provided her with half way through her crying jag.

"Feel better?"

Harmony nodded and removed her glasses to blow her nose. "Yeah.. though I've made you look like a used tissue. So I apologise for that."

"Huh?"

Harmony gave a watery smile and pointed at her friends pyjama top, sure enough when she looked down Hermione could see that her top was soaked with tears and had more than a few patches of something that looked suspiciously like snot.

Hermione grimaced and Harmony gave a drained giggle.

"Sorry."

"Don't worry about it. I'm more worried about you to be honest. I take it, that what he said is the reason you slapped him."

Harmony looked down into her lap and started fiddling with the used tissue. "Yes; I know it was a stupid thing to do, but those words hurt me so much. And I felt so angry that he still has the power to hurt me, I didn't even realise I'd done it until I felt a pain going through my hand."

"I can't blame you for hitting him Harm, I would've done the same thing if I'd been there to hear it."

Harmony gave her friend a tired grin. "Thanks, but what if he's already gone to his headmistress. They could kick me out before I even get a chance to try and put my name in the goblet. If I'm forced to leave; he'll have won."

"Well we knew how James was likely to react. The fact that he's acted like an arse sooner than we expected won't change our plans to enter our names. We'll just have to put those plans into fruition quicker than we'd wanted that's all. I mean I know we wanted witnesses so we had unequivocal proof without them needing to test the Geasan should things go south, but needs must and if James is going to tattle to Mcgonagall then we need to be entered before he even gets the chance." Hermione said looking decisive and reaching for a jumper that she'd left on the end of her bed.

"You mean to say we need to enter ourselves tonight?" Harmony frowned. "Why am I saying we? I'm the only one that needs entering tonight. James isn't going to be able to ship you off for my slapping him."

Hermione pulled the jumper over her head and started running a brush through her bushy hair.

"No, perhaps not. But I also wouldn't put it passed them to try and use me as leverage against you _if_ they think that I can be shipped off with impunity. Think about it, what better way to keep you inline than using the threat of sending me back to France without a moments notice if you set one toe over said line."

"You really think they'd do that?"

Hermione looked thoughtful. "I don't think they would.. but... You have to understand, the teachers in this school hate being shown up by students. If they feel slighted by the fact that you've got one over on their rules, the morality of shipping me off in order to hurt you may not bother them as much as it should."

"So we're doing it then."

Hermione nodded. "Yes, unless you'd rather forget about Hogwarts of course. What James did to you goes way beyond what we were expecting him to act like. We thought he'd just try and ship you off, not physically accost you. If you'd rather go back to France we can stay here and wait for the teachers to turn up in the morning. Then we can both go back to an academy free of Fleur and Maxime. I imagine it'd be a rather pleasant way to spend our final year of school."

Harmony shook her head. "No, I can't give James the satisfaction of that. If I leave he gets what he wants."

Hermione threw a jumper at Harmony's head. "You better put that on then. It'll be freezing outside."

Harmony started pulling the jumper on and looked at her friend who was busy ripping off a few small strips of parchment from the roll next to her bed.

"You do realise that If Maxime or someone catches us outside at this time of night, we'll be in a hell of a lot of trouble."

"Well." Started Hermione as she searched for a quill and ink.

"If they catch us once we've entered our names, it's pretty much a moot point. The best they'll be able to do is give us detention.. can you grab these for me, I think the stacks about to fall."

Harmony wandered over and held the stack of books steady as Hermione grasped for the quill that had slipped under the bottom them. "And if they catch us before we can get to the goblet?"

"Thank you." Said Hermione as she straightened up with the quill gripped in her fingers.

"Well if they catch us before we enter our names, there's two options. One we remind them that we have in fact already reached our majority and the headmistress did say that the goblet was freely accessible to anyone who wanted to enter their name, for the next twenty four hours or..." Hermione trailed if as she concentrated on the scrap of parchment in front of her.

"Or." prompted Harmony

"Or option two is that we write our entries before we leave the carriage, and if anyone finds us outside we run like hell and hope we can get to the goblet before they catch us and send us back here for the rest of the night."

Harmony grinned and wiped away a mock tear. "Aww, my baby's all grown up. It feels like only yesterday she was quietly reading books and trying to keep her uniform neat. I never thought I'd be able to bring out your rebellious streak."

Hermione gave her an arch look. "With you as a friend I'm surprised it hasn't come out sooner. Come on, get your entry written and we can go." Said Hermione brandishing a small bit a parchment.

"I've done mine already, I would've done yours to but I don't know if the judge would interpret an entry written in another's hand as fraudulent and we can't risk it."

Harmony took the parchment piece and the inked quill Hermione had given her and leaned on a stack of Potions and Defence books she'd dumped next to her bed as they'd been flying over France.

Carefully she wrote the name of the school and then signed her name to the parchment with a flourish.

Now all they needed to do was get to the goblet.

**So this chapter had appeared way sooner than most of you were expecting, but the editing was easier**

**than anticipated. so I decided to post it early, I didn't think anyone would mind me helping them away from the cliff edge earlier than expected. **

**See Y'all next week, (I mean it this time!) x Pink (^^) **


	7. Hyacinth and The Goblet of Fire

The night was moonless and most of the castles windows were dark.

The whole area was basically pitch black, with only a pitiful amount of starlight preventing Harmony from walking straight into anything.

They could've done with casting a Lumos. But the risk of being caught was too great for either of them to think that was a good idea, and their wands remained unlit.

Harmony cautiously edged down the side of the carriage, carefully placing her feet so she wouldn't accidentally trip over something she couldn't see, she knew her friend was following her path as closely as she could for the same reasons.

She squinted into the darkness, trying to discern whether anyone was moving in the castles shadows. After several tense moments, Harmony came to the conclusion that they were in the clear.

Grudgingly she could admit to herself that it wasn't exactly a surprise there was no one around.

It was two o'clock in the morning after all

With a huff she glanced around at her friend and found her looking back with expectant eyes.

"I can't see anyone, but there's no light coming through the doors. I think they've been locked for the night." It was so cold the softly spoken words turned to vapour as soon as they left her lips.

"I suspected they might've been. We'll just have to see if they're locked in the magical sense or the muggle one. I know the caretaker is a squib so he wouldn't be able to ward the doors closed at night, but the castle might be self serving in that respect. The spells guarding her students are extremely old; they might have a certain sentience to them after all this time."

Harmony could just make out her friend worrying at her lower lip.

"We might be better to get up to the castle and come up with a plan once we know what we're up against. If the castle _has_ locked herself, it's unlikely we'll be able to get in that way and I really don't know of another entrance that we might be able to sneak in through."

"I do." Said Harmony absently as she glanced back over at the castle, trying to discern what route would be best to get them up to the doors.

"Really, where?"

Harmony twisted around to look at Hermione, to see that her friend was shivering badly. Which was hardly surprising considering it was cold enough to freeze the brass knobs of a bedstead out there.

"Honeydukes cellar."

"Honeydukes cel-. How on earth do _you_ know there's an entrance into the school in Honeydukes cellar?"

Harmony sent her friend a slightly feral grin. "Sirius likes to brag about his prankquests an awful lot once he's drunk, and there's one story he always goes back to when he gets pissed during Christmas break. Honestly, with the amount of times he's mentioned that hidden passage I'm surprised it's secret at all."

"You do know there's a big difference between breaking school rules and breaking into a sweet shop at three in the morning. Right?" Asked Hermione a little worriedly.

"Oh I know, but it's only a back up plan. And I don't think we'll get to much problem if we're careful, I imagine Honeydukes is a lot less well warded than Hogwarts is."

Hermione shook her head exasperatedly. "That's really not the point I was trying to- You know what forget it. I'd rather not have to break into Honeydukes, but I suppose it's viable as a last resort."

Harmony beamed, though the effect was somewhat ruined by her slightly chattering teeth. "See, always knew there was a delinquent in there somewhere Mione'."

Her friend didn't deem to give her a response to that statement.

"So how are we going to do this? Walk straight to the doors or skirt around the edge until we're close enough to the castle not to be seen." Asked Hermione as she peered at the castle over her friends shoulder.

"I think we might be better to skirt. It's slower yes, but if someone comes it gives us a chance to try and hide." With one last glance to ensure there really was no one around, Harmony edged away from the carriage and out into the open.

The pair of shadowed figures moved as silently as they could towards the school, but the thickly frosted grass made it near impossible and the sound of crunching fauna echoed incriminatingly around the empty grounds.

Thankfully, the duo were the only ones mad enough to be walking around outside the castle at that time of day and eventually made it to the doors without incident.

Hermione gave the doors a slight tug, just in case they were still open, but they didn't even budge.

Harmony let out a sigh; dragging a chilled hand down her face.

"Okay so they're definitely locked. I thought that Mcgonagall woman said the Goblet would be freely available for twenty four hours. It's hardly available if two thirds of the competitors are locked out."

Hermione leaned forwards and lightly traced her hands over the intricately carved oak.

"I imagine she didn't think that any students would feel the need to submit their names at this time of day." Hermione said absently; drawing her wand.

With a few mutters, the tip flared red and she began to gently move it back and fourth over the surface of the door. Harmony knew what she was doing and waited patiently for her to finish.

"Well, there's no overt energy signature. All I'm picking up is the background energy of the school, I really think this might be a muggle lock. But we'll have to be really bloody careful, because if I'm wrong it might perceive us as a threat and then the tournament will be the least of our worries."

"So it's probably best if we don't try an alohomora on it then."

Hermione grimaced. "I would say so, yes. I don't suppose you have your picks on you do you?"

Harmony gave her friend a Cheshire cat grin.

"Of course."

With a flourish she pulled a small purple leather case from her pocket, wiggling it under her friends nose.

"Really Mione', it's like you don't know me at all."

Hermione batted the object away.

"Oh har, well get on with it then. It's freezing out here."

Harmony rolled her eyes, apparently breaking and entering meant less to Hermione when she was freezing her bollocks off.

She lent forwards to insert the picks in the lock, but as soon as her hand touched the door, it clicked open and a slither of light emerged through a tiny gap.

Harmony warily pulled away sending her friend a bewildered look.

"I thought you said it was locked?"

"It was." Replied Hermione looking confused

Harmony didn't think the hairs standing up on the back of her neck were from the cold anymore.

"Okay so it's just unlocked itself for no reason. That's not creepy at all." Harmony's voice was so thick with sarcasm it could've been chewed.

Hermione tutted. "Oh honestly, it's a magical castle. There's nothing to be creeped out by. The door likely opened because the castle recognised someone of student age."

"So why didn't it open for you then?"

Hermione apparently had no answer for that, because her question was met with silence.

Taking a deep breath Harmony placed both her hands on the wood, feeling a vague pulse of mild heat as she did so, and gave the door a hefty shove to get it to open.

The door swung inwards and the space the two girl were stood in flooded with warm light from the entrance hall.

"Well, I suppose we won't be breaking into Honeydukes tonight." Harmony said despondently as she walked into the slightly less frigid space.

"Yes well, I for one I'm quite glad of that. There's an awful lot I'm willing to do for you Harm, but I'd really rather not get a record for breaking and entering on your behalf."

Harmony snorted, just as a bright blue light caught her eye.

Near the far end of the entrance hall, just beyond the edge of the great hall doors, the Goblet was gently floating above a stone plinth; looking a damn sight more innocent than it had any right too.

Unconsciously the two girls linked hands as they walked towards it, each taking courage from the presence of the other.

As soon as the pair stepped within a few feet of the goblet they felt something pass over them, as if assessing their suitability to be there, before it dissipated leaving them alone once more.

Now that the time had come Harmony could feel her earlier nerves returning with a vengeance.

She knew that this was a stupid thing to be doing just to stay at Hogwarts, but she couldn't let James... or Maxime, for that matter, win.

She was fed up of people who couldn't give a shit dictating her life. Plus if she was being totally honest a small part of her really did want to become champion, even if she had very little hope of becoming so.

Harmony felt Hermione squeeze her fingers. "It's okay if you want to back out you know. We'll just go back to France."

"No, I can't. I'd hate myself for backing out now. You don't have to enter though. You're only here for me after all and as I said in the carriage it's not like you're the one that slapped James or the one Maxime wants to make an example of. You don't need the protection of the contract to remain here."

Hermione shook her head. "No, I'm not risking leaving you here on your own. If you enter, then I enter. End of story."

Harmony drew in a deep breath and gave her friend a nervously excited smile. "Okay. On the count of three?"

Hermione nodded and pulled her slip of parchment out of her pocket.

"One."

Harmony held her own slip aloft.

"Two."

Her heart felt like it was about to pound straight through her ribcage.

"Three."

As one the two girls held their entries over the enchanted flames and let them drop.

The flames roared higher to grab at them and the girls watched as the parchment evaporated before their eyes like water in a hot pan.

It was over, they'd finally entered themselves and now their fates were in the hands of a Goblet.

The two girls woke suddenly to the sound of people thundering past their room. Harmony blearily grasped for her clock and let out a loud groan when she saw the time, flopping back into her pillows in dismay.

"What the fuck, why the hell is everyone thundering around at half six in the morning." Yawned Harmony as she reached for her glasses. "S'not like we've got classes or anything."

"I imagine everyone wants to get to the Goblet. After all they weren't stupid enough to be putting their names in, during the middle of the night." Hermione said as she got out of bed and started pulling things from her drawers.

"How are you so bloody chipper after barely four hours sleep."

"I'm a morning person, as you well know, besides I'm used to it after having to be up at all hours studying. Now I'm going to get a shower, hopefully this should help you wake up a little."

Something came sailing straight for her head, Harmony's finally honed seeker reflex's where the only thing that stopped it from smacking her in the face.

Turning the object over in her hands she found Hermione had thrown her a bottle of Snidget X.

"Thank you." Harmony singsonged after her retreating friend

"You're welcome." Hermione singsonged back "Just don't blame me when you get cavities."

With that the door to the en-suite clicked shut and she heard the shower turn on

Kicking back her covers Harmony leaned back into her pillows. Once comfortable she took a sip of her caffeine and sugar filled drink and looked around the room they were expected to call home until next July.

It wasn't exactly small, but it wasn't spacious either.

The room was just big enough for two single beds, two chests of drawers, a single wardrobe with a full length mirror and a tiny vanity that pulled out of the wall between the two chairs they'd sat in while the carriage had been in flight.

Harmony could easily tell that the chair on her side of the room was unlikely to used for its proper purpose.

It was already covered in the clothes she'd carelessly discarded when they'd stumbled back to the carriage a few hours prior, and she highly doubted the mess would do anything but multiply. Or that would be the case at least until Hermione finally lost her rag over the mess and started throwing things at her head.

It was a tried and tested pattern that had been happening for years. One that wasn't likely to be discarded simply because they were in Scotland instead of France.

Taking one last gulp of her drink, she heaved a tired sigh and got out of bed.

She'd just managed to wrestle her shower gel away from her toiletry bag, when Hermione wandered back in from the shower.

"Is there any hot water left or has Fleur already took it all?"

"Only a little bit. You'll need to be quick if you don't want a cold one."

"Ugh, what is it about that cow. Doesn't she know other people need to bathe?"

"To be fair, I imagine everyone else that's got up early has played their part in taking the water just as much as she has." Hermione pointed out reasonably as she began finger combing her damp bushy curls.

"Yeah, whatever. I'm going for a shower." Harmony grabbed her towel and made for the bathroom, but turned back to her friend just before she entered.

"Oh, something's wrong with Hyacinth this morning. No idea what, but be careful when you get your curling solution. I nearly lost a finger to her zip just now."

Hermione watched her friend close the bathroom door and let out a weary sigh of resignation.

To this day she could never understand what had possessed Harmony to buy a sentient toiletry bag at that wizarding market in Marseille. But she had, and for the past four years Hermione had had to put up with the mercurial attitude of a hideously floral bag that could go from pushing at you when it wanted attention, to trying to remove your fingers when it was in a snit.

It was like having an overly temperamental cat, just without the cuteness factor.

She approached her friends bed and found the bag already had its zip bared in anger. Warily she moved forwards to grab it, but the bag lunged trying to nip at her fingers and she backed off.

Apparently content to have seen off its would be attacker, the bag moodily shuffled onto its owners pillow curling up in preparation for a good sulk.

Seeing this Hermione came to a decision.

She wasn't going to risk loosing a limb to a sulky toiletry bag of all things. Harmony was the one who insisted on giving all their products to it, (it got tetchy otherwise) so she could be the one to retrieve Hermione's required items from the hostile object.

Besides, the bag liked Harmony better anyway and while Hermione might be willing to enter a deadly tournament for her friend, she drew the line at fighting Hyacinth for her hair products.

It was just to bloody dangerous.

Harmony shook her sore hand as she walked up to the castle.

Hyacinth had managed to get her good when she'd retrieved her friends hair products and she now had bright red zip marks indented into the dorsal side of her hand.

Said friend was being less than subtle with her amusement and Harmony scowled at her.

"This isn't funny you know."

"It is a little, it's not everyday one can claim to have been savagely mauled by a vicious floral bag."

"Oh har har, I really don't know what's gotten into her this morning. She was fine yesterday. Even came to me for a fuss when we were crossing over the mountains."

Hermione gave her friend an incredulous look. "Harm. Its a bag. The way you go on anyone would think you owned a dog."

Harmony pursed her lips. "Well she is a bit like a dog really. She certainly guards our things like one. Think about how many times Maxime would've been able to confiscate my illicit hair products if Hyacinth wasn't there to look after them."

Hermione made an exasperated noise at her friends inability to see reason where Hyacinth was concerned, but didn't say anything. She'd long since given up trying to persuade Harmony to get rid of the thing.

When they finally entered the entrance hall it was overflowing with students, and neither girl could see a way of getting to the great hall without barging through the mass.

"I wonder if anyone else has put their names in yet?" Hermione wondered aloud.

Harmony saw a boy with a camera walking past and grabbed him by the back of his school robes. "Hey! what're yo-"

"Do you know if anyone's put their names in the goblet yet?"

The boy eyed her blue uniform but thankfully made no remark about her English accent. "Yeah the Durmstrang lot all put their names in first thing, I've been down here since just after five so I got a brilliant picture of Krum being the first one to put his name in. Dave said I was mad, but the picture was so good I-"

"What about the Beauxbatons students. Any of them go yet." Asked Harmony getting impatient.

"A few, the light blond girl hasn't done it yet. I asked her if she'd wait for me to get another roll of film before she did and she just walked away."

The boy looked at them both consideringly. "Are you two going to enter? would you mind me taking a picture."

"Sorry kid."

"Oh. Well if you don't need anything else I better get going I've got potions soon."

Harmony shook her head and the boy wandered off.

"So Fleur hasn't entered yet. Odd, you'd have thought she'd have wanted to be the first."

"Maybe she's waiting for more foot traffic. You know she always has to be the centre of attention."

"Or maybe she's lost her nerve." Said Harmony as they pushed their way through the milling crowds and into the great hall for breakfast.

"Who knows." Said Hermione as they sat in the same spaces they had the night previous. "Are you still doing your training today. It's not like either of us got much sleep."

Harmony reached for a tureen of porridge and started to ladle a good amount into her and Hermione's dishes.

"Well, I really would rather go back to bed to be honest but I've got no chance of.. no I'll have raspberry jam thanks.. I've got no chance of getting back to sleep now. Besides as I said last night, Eddy will almost certainly know if I miss any of my scheduled time."

Hermione finished adding a small amount of salt to her porridge and glanced at Harmony.

"You never did tell me what you plan to do about that by the way. What _are_ you going to do if you happen to be picked as champion."

Harmony poured herself a glass of orange juice and proceeded to add several large pieces of banana to her bowl before answering.

"Well Eddy obviously knows what the tournament is. She called it a _'fool hardy waste of young blood',_ which seems like an apt assessment from what we've read." Harmony said as she popped a piece of banana in her mouth

"When she found out I was planning on entering, she grudgingly informed me that if I got picked then the training I'd have to undergo for the tasks would be '_adequate recompense for the parts of my meticulous schedule you'll have to cut'_. Though she is demanding that even then I do at least fourteen hours defence training a week and ten hours potions theory slash practice. If I don't get picked then she said I need keep to my scheduled eighteen hours of defence and put the potions back up to twelve"

"That's an awful lot."

Harmony shrugged. "Yeah, but the end result will be worth it."

"If you say so. Personally I can't see the appeal of taking on a Defence apprenticeship. What are you going to do with the Masters it gives you? I can't think of anything other than teach or go into some sort of law enforcement thing and I can't really see either of those things appealing to you."

"Yeah well that's why I'm taking the second mastery isn't it? I love potions almost as much as defence and as we've found out its something I'm good enough at to make a reasonable living. Its partly why Eddy suggested the double mastery. She knows defence is my passion but she's a practical old bird," Harmony said as she twirled her spoon between her fingers. "And as she pointed out last year she might be willing to turn a blind eye to my activities in the school but I certainly can't keep selling potions unlicensed in the wider world. So I guess I'll be a Potions Mistress first and a Defence Master second. Not perhaps the way I would've liked it but it's still not a bad way to live if I manage to gain the qualifications."

Taking a sip of her juice Harmony glanced at her friend only to find her staring into her porridge as if it held the secrets of the universe. "What about you," she asked carefully as she set her glass down. "Have you heard from the French ministry yet?"

Hermione gave a none committal hum. "Sort of? They sent me a letter the day before we left telling me my application will be processed in due course, but there was no mention of whether or not the department I applied to has space for a school leaver."

Harmony reached over and gave her a half hug, she knew how much Hermione hated being left in the dark about the important things.

"Don't worry to much 'Mione. I'm sure they'll get hold of you soon and in the mean time we'll just have to hope for the best."

Hermione gave her a half smile. "I suppose."

Severus had no need to push himself through the milling crowd in the entrance hall, the power of his contempt alone was enough to send most of the little twits scuttling out of his way.

By the time he made it to the staff table the students excited chatter was already making him feel like someone had taken a club to his head and it was only half seven. He dreaded the thought of what awaited him in his classes.

He did not need to be Trelawney to foretell that he was going to have a record number of melted cauldrons that day.

Resigned to his lot in life of forever being pissed on by fate, Severus grabbed himself a cup of coffee and Several dark pieces of toast; slathering them with enough butter that every bite sent it running down his hand and onto the edge of his sleeve.

There were more reasons than mere dramatic effect for why he always wore black. The colour also happened to do remarkably well at hiding a wide variety of stains that he couldn't be bothered dealing with.

Severus was just finishing his second piece of toast and his third cup of coffee when a familiar set of figures entered the great hall. It was Lily's daughter and her friend. A glance at the other end of the table showed that Potter hadn't bothered to turn up for breakfast yet, likely because the man was nursing a hangover the size of a pink elephant right about now.

Severus gave the girl a once over, she didn't appear to be overly bothered by what had happened the night previous, she was just calmly going about eating her breakfast.

The sound of chairs being pulled out over the stone floor, told Severus that some of his other colleagues were finally turning up for the day. A glance informed him that he'd been joined by Minerva and the Beauxbatons headmistress.

"Good Morning Severus. I trust you set up the age line as I requested?"

Severus took another sip of his coffee. "Of course."

"Excellent, Olympe I'm not sure if you've met my deputy headmaster Severus Snape."

The large woman looked down at Severus with an assessing look that made him feel vaguely like an insect that had found it's way into her meal.

"Mousier Snape, a pleasure. What iz it zat you teach 'ere at 'Ogwarts?"

Severus held back the sound of displeasure he could feel building in the back of his throat and gave the woman as bland an answer as he could manage.

"I endeavour to teach the fine art of Potions Madame, though precious few seem to pick up on it's intricacies."

Maxime nodded as she reached across the table to grab an entire loaf of brioche before cutting it in two and covering it with half a pot of jam.

"Ah, a most intriguing subject to be sure. 'Owever it iz a subject that iz not really taught in Beauxbatons. So its intricacies are rather lost on me as well I'm a'fraid."

"You do not teach potions as a matter of course?"

To Severus the idea sounded utterly barbaric, no wonder the French hadn't produced a decent potions Master for several decades.

"Non, I am unsure why it was disbanded, but its loss occurred before my tenure began and I saw no reason to bring it back as ze students education did not seem to be suffering with it's loss. There are 'owever a few students who 'ave sort to follow the discipline once self study was possible. We encourage all our children to follow a self made plan from ze age of thirteen onwards. We 'ave found zat if the students are less stifled in zeir learning zey do much better."

"You mean to say you have no classes for the students after the age of thirteen?"

Minerva actually sounded scandalised.

The French woman took a small bite of her loaf and swallowed it with a chuckle.

"Oh no, ma chère. We 'ave classes just like 'Ogwarts. But ze difference iz zat we permit them to pick whatever zey wish to study. There is no core curriculum like zer iz 'ere. As long as zey study any five subject we are quite happy to leave them be. Of course if zey choose to study somethink outside of what we can offer zen zey must either study it in zeir spare time or find an outside Master who iz willing to teach zem."

"Is that how your students study potions? With outside help?"

"Oui, Madame Èglise is the one who teaches zem at ze moment. Though she iz not truly outside 'elp in zis case as she is also ze defence master, but ze potions classes are so small it iz no great strain on her time. As it 'appens she is quite pleased with one of her latest students though ze stubborn woman refuses to tell me who it iz." Maxime lowered her voice slightly as she leaned a little closer. "I 'ave my suspicions zat it iz Mademoiselle Delacour. She is a most conscientious young woman. It is 'er I am putting my 'opes on becoming champion."

Severus was positive he could hear the type of favouritism that made Slughorn legendary during his time in Hogwarts in this woman's voice, and it set his teeth on edge.

"Surely you have not discounted all of your other students Olympe?"

Ah, so he wasn't the only one to detect the less than subtle undertones in the woman's voice.

"Oh, no. Ov course not, but she iz most certainly one of my better students. I do believe Mademoiselle Granger would make an excellent champion too, but she does inzist on being friends with ze Potter girl. It will do 'er no favours in ze long run. I am quite sure ov it."

"Granger. That name sounds familiar." Mused Minerva as she cut into her kippers.

"It should, she used to be one of yours I think? She was a British transfer. Ov course being a brit she made fast friends with mademoiselle Potter. I 'ad 'oped zat ze girl would leave 'er company once she was settled in, but alas it was an 'opeless wish. It's such a shame to see a bright future ruined by someone who 'as no care for their own. Ze only thing Potter 'as in 'er favour iz 'er ability on a broom."

"Yes I agree it is quite the shame to see students wasting their futures. I tell you, I had this pair of twins here until last year. Quite bright lads, but so very insistent on causing trouble. They've opened this shop…"

As the two headmistresses continued to drone on about the lamentable decisions of their students, Severus had a sudden bout of clarity.

So he did know the brown haired girl.

Granger.

Yes he could remember her, little know it all who seemed to think the ability to read put her head and shoulders above everyone else. Always seeking to show off, never seeming to realise that no one wanted to hear her prattle on for seven whole feet of parchment about the use of a bezoar when all he'd asked for was one.

Stood to reason that she'd seek out a Potter as a friend, they were well known show-off's as well.

Though if Maxime was to believed this Potter was apparently even worse than her father.

"Ah! Zere she goes now." Maxime's voice stole through Severus thoughts and he saw the woman pointing at something with her knife.

Severus could just make out a platinum blond girl walking out of the hall with a group of her peers. The duo of Granger and Potter didn't seem to be amongst them though.

"She must be on 'er way to ze goblet. She said she was going to submit 'erself once she'd 'ad 'er breakfast. I really do believe that you are watching my future champion."

So this blond girl was who Maxime was placing her hopes on. In Severus's opinion she looked far to full of herself and the pack of friends at her back reminded him alarmingly of the marauders.

Just before she left the hall she leaned down to speak to someone sat at the Ravenclaws table. When the girl finally walked away, laughing uproariously with the rest of those in her group, he could see it was the Potter girl she'd been speaking to.

From the look on Potter's face Severus could guess that whatever the blond girl had said, it hadn't been friendly.

Granger put her hand on her friends shoulder and after a whispered conversation the two girls left the hall too. But instead of following the blond girl to the left and towards the Goblet, they went to the right.

Clearly heading for the main doors and the freedom of the grounds.

The sound of the side door opening and closing, told Severus that someone else was arriving for breakfast with barely ten minutes before the start of classes. The appearance of a speck of bright crimson in the corner of his eye told him it was Potter senior who was walking towards the table.

Grimacing he decided he'd had more than enough breakfast for the day and got up to leave.

Minerva made some sort of exclamation when Potter got near, but Severus was already half way out of the hall by then.

He had a class full of little idiots waiting for him and frankly he couldn't be bothered to find out what one of the adult ones had got up to. He was positive he would be told all about it later, especially since he was bound to be accused of having something to do with it.

He always was.

**I hope you enjoyed the chapter and as always if you spot typos ect let me know, your next chapter will be posted next week. **

**See ya soon, pink X (^^)**

**ps slight chapter edit as of end oct 2019**


	8. You shouldn't hide behind trees

**Discreetly checking riot gear...Oh!..er Hello? Kicks riot gear under bed. **

**Well new week new chapter. **

**Enjoy!**

**Muttering to self.. where did I put that shield?**

Harmony trudged through the damp grass lining the edge of the forbidden forest with Hermione not far behind. She was still fuming from what Fleur had said just before she'd left the hall, and she couldn't think of a better method of releasing her anger than hexing stuff silly in the name of education.

She'd already gone back to the carriage to put her contacts in and change and despite the fact that her normal training clothes were not the warmest thing to wear during a foggy Scottish morning in late October, she didn't doubt that soon she'd be so warmed up that it was unlikely to matter how thin they were.

"Harm, slow down a bit. We're never going to find a good spot to set the stuff up if you keep stomping around like a moody elephant."

Harmony took a deep breath, trying to remind herself not to snap at Hermione.

It wasn't her fault that Fleur was a bitch.

Releasing it, she watched as it condensed in front of her face and felt herself calm minutely.

"Sorry, the cow just worked me up the wrong way is all."

"I know that. Though I can't understand why you're letting what she said get to you. She's said much worse over the years and it doesn't usually get under your skin like this."

Harmony didn't answer Hermione until they started to set up the equipment in a small clearing they'd found just beyond the boundaries of the forest.

"I know I don't usually let it get to me." Said Harmony out of the blue as she lifted one of the training dummies onto the track.

"But after what James said yesterday I guess I'm just a little sensitive to those types of comments at the moment."

"Maior.. Yeah I get that but.. Sto-Elevo… if you let her start getting under your skin she's only going to get worse. You know the way she is, she finds the place it hurts and tries to press." Stated Hermione as she resized one of the targets and levitated it to attach to the dummy that Harmony had just added.

"I know but.. am I supposed to be anything other than angry when she implies that I'd better not even think of entering my name, since I am and I quote. _'A poor excuse for a witch, who doesn't deserve to be a Beauxbatons student. Let alone it's champion_'."

"No, you have every right to be angry. But perhaps don't let it rule you. It doesn't normally. To be honest it sounded to me like she was trying to put you off because she sees you as competition"

Harmony sighed and wiped her dirty hands on her leggings. "Yeah I know all that and I'm more than aware that she's trying to put me off and that I really shouldn't listen...but she just rubs me the wrong way with how she thinks everyone is beneath her. I'll try and control my temper around her but I make no promises."

Hermione smiled and pulled the last piece of equipment out of the tiny leather case everything was stored in.

"That's all I ask and I honestly I don't expect that you'll be able to restrain your temper for much longer, not with the way she's been acting recently. Just try and save it for when she's being a real bitch, instead of when she's just trying to ruffle your feathers."

"Yeah okay... do you need a hand with that?" Harmony offered as she saw Hermione struggling under the weight of the suddenly enlarged dummy.

"Yeah.. if you could just.. thanks." Between them they managed to get the last of the dummies into its rightful place and Harmony placed the last target on its stomach while Hermione attached the last of the spell throwers.

Once they were finished the two stood back to admire their handiwork.

They were stood in the middle of a fifteen foot wide circular track that had dummies spaced along its circumference every couple of feet or so. Some were laying on their back playing dead and others were stood upright and ready to attack once the spell was cast.

"So what are you doing first then. Attack or Defend?"

"Attack" Said Harmony as she removed her sweatshirt, revealing a plain purple vest underneath.

"Eddy says my wandless defence needs work, my aim keeps going to pieces once I'm knackered. So I figure if I do my Attack simulation first, then it should tire me out enough that I can then try and practice keeping my aim true while fatigued."

"Fair enough." Said Hermione as she made her way outside of the training circle and over to the side where she'd set up a small chair. "Just let me know when you're ready."

Harmony nodded and closed her eyes for a few seconds, just letting the early morning peace of the forest sooth over the frayed edges of her temper. She could hear something moving through trees, a crow cawing in the distance, a robin chirping somewhere closer and something that sounded vaguely like hooves pawing at the ground to her far right.

Blinking her eyes open, the forest came back into focus.

Taking the bobble off her wrist she scraped her hair into a messy ponytail on the top of her head.

"Have you got your shield up yet?" She asked her friend who was setting up a small table for her study notes.

"As soon as I've set you going I'll put one up."

Harmony took a deep breath, the crisp autumn air helping to cleanse away the nerves that she always got just before setting the dummies going. Dropping into a crouch she prepared herself for the bombardment that was about to come.

"Okay, I'm as ready as I'm gonna get." Harmony said, gripping her wand so tightly she felt it creak.

"Impetus." Hermione intoned before quickly erecting a shield charm around herself and her work area.

No sooner had the words been said than the first dummy lunged into the centre of the circle. Harmony cast a minor Purpura Fulgur and the middle of the dummy scorched black.

Sensing the hit it receded and another two jumped forwards. Another Purpura took care of those two, but a third one came spinning in from her far left, nearly taking her head off with it's wooden arm. Harmony dropped to the floor and aimed an Aduro at it's base, causing the bottom to catch light and the dummy to list alarmingly to one side.

Harmony wasn't worried about the damage though, these things were literally made for this and she knew a quick reparo would fix them right up once she was finished, and if it didn't.. well it kept the dummy makers in business.

Forty five minutes later Harmony was breathing heavily but the dummies had finally come to a stand still, meaning the simulation was at an end. Several dummies were in need of repair, she was soaked in sweat and she was positive she'd got bits of forbidden forest embedded in her palms, but the endorphins were coursing and she felt alive, if slightly knackered.

Realising the dummies had come to a stop, Hermione dropped her shield and wandered over with a towel and a glass of water for her friend. Harmony wiped her face and took Several long gulps of the cool liquid, while Hermione set about repairing the damage she'd caused.

"Dummy number six looks like it's on it last legs. You'll need to get Eddy to send you another one."

"Yeah, okay. I'll send her a letter once Hedwig gets here. Did you manage to get much done?"

"I've got about half of my ancient runes assignment drafted. Though I'm thinking I might take a gander at Hogwarts library before I write it up fully. The one good thing about this school always was it's library, it's much better than Beauxbatons. Are you going to have a rest before you do the next lot?"

Harmony shook her head. "No, like I said Eddy's concerned about my aim once I get tired. I'll just finish my drink and then I'll have you start the next simulation. Have you got the blindfold?"

"It's in my bag, though I really wish you wouldn't use it. It always seems dangerous to me." Said Hermione as she walked over to her satchel and began to rummage around for the blindfold her friend was after.

"You know why I use it though." Harmony answered as she pulled her ponytail taught. "If I don't block my sight I'll never be able to learn how to pick out a moving target through sound alone. I clearly need the practice, if I'd got this down already James wouldn't have been able to sneak up on me last night."

Hermione sighed resignedly. "If you say so. I just don't like the thought of you getting hurt."

Harmony smiled. "I know."

She wiped the back of her neck down one last time and threw the towel outside the ring. "Right, blindfold if you please maestro."

Hermione walked around the back of her and gently placed the green silk over her eyes, before tightly knotting it at the back of her friends head. "And if you could take this with you too please Mademoiselle, for safe keeping."

Harmony blindly held out her holly wand and she felt it gently removed from her grasp, before hearing the soft crunch of dead leaves; indicating that Hermione had left the training circle behind.

Harmony paced the circle for a few minutes, getting her bearings back now she was sightless, before turning in the direction she thought Hermione was sat. "Right so shield and a silencing charm, for you. I can't know when you set it going this time."

"I know the drill, though I would like to point out one more time how stupid I think this is."

Harmony let out a grunt of frustration. "Just do it please 'Mione. It's got to be done."

There was no answer and Harmony didn't know if this was because Hermione was upset with her for being short with her or if it was because she'd already put up the silencing charm. When a bolt of magic sizzled past her shoulder, just barely missing her ear, Harmony guessed that it must be the charm.

Diving to the ground she waited for the tell tale creek of wood and leather and the smell of ozone as the dummies got ready to fire.

When she heard the next creek, she was ready and fired off several spells one after another, hoping they hit their targets.

As the spell light flashed around her, she could concede that this was a highly dangerous training exercise, but she really fucking loved the rush it gave her.

Perhaps it _was_ time to admit to herself that she was a bit of an adrenaline junkie.

Only a tiny one though.

Not like she was going out of her way to face dragons or anything.

Severus stalked out of the castle sending students scrambling in his wake, no one wanted to be the one to get in his way when it was clear the dungeon bat was out for someone's blood.

For his part he paid no mind to the scuttling students. He was far to busy fuming at having another injustice sent his way, by the sanctimonious tabby otherwise known as Minerva Mcgonagall.

Potter had apparently gone to Minerva and spilled the beans about the confrontation he'd had with his daughter, though perhaps that wasn't quite the right way to word it.

He'd spilled the beans that put him in the best light.

From what he could tell, Minerva honestly seemed to be under the mistaken impression that her precious Gryffindor head of house had been ruthlessly attacked by one of the visiting students.

She'd been quite insistent that as her deputy it was up to him to go and retrieve said student, apparently the fact that he'd been in the middle of a double potions class didn't matter when the honour of her Gryffindors was on the line.

With his robes flaring around him dramatically in the morning chill. Severus bore down on the carriage that contained the Beauxbatons students. Most of them were milling around outside wearing everything short of fur coats, and taking part in some sort of exercise regime.

Glancing over the assembled students he could see Maxime's favoured head of platinum, but he could see neither the brown tight curls of Granger nor the ginger auburn of the Potter girl.

Feeling aggravated that the girl wasn't going to be as easy to find as he'd hoped, Severus grabbed the boy in front of him by the scruff of his fur scarf and asked where he could find the Potter girl or Granger.

The boy looked at him wide eyed, and after stuttering for a few moments finally gave him an answer. "Zey walked off Zat way nearly and hour ago. I know not where zey went."

With a growl Severus released the boy and marched off in the direction that he'd pointed.

_Typical Potter then_, thought Severus, _Not even been here a day and already traipsing around the forbidden forest like some foolhardy Gryffindor._

The closer he got to the tree line, he found definite signs of someone having walked that way recently and followed the path of bent grass and disturbed leaves. As he followed the path, Severus became aware of the smell of ozone on the air and the distinctive thump; sizzle of defence magic making contact with an object.

Letting his wand drop into his hand Severus continued to follow the flattened grass until he came to a small clearing just inside the boundaries of the forbidden forest.

Of all the things Severus had been expecting the little trouble makers to be doing, it certainly wasn't this.

In the middle of the clearing surrounded by more than fifteen top end training dummies was Potter's daughter.

She was throwing wandless spells left and right almost quicker than Severus could comprehend. Most of them seemed to make contact with the dummies, but there were still more than a few that wildly missed their mark.

Of course that might be because the stupid nitwit was wearing a blindfold while trying to defend against her simulated attackers.

Walking closer Severus watched as one of her spells veered wildly to the far right; hitting a shield charm that hissed yellow sparks as the hex made contact. He could just make out Granger sat within the shield, engrossed in several thick books; apparently quite oblivious to her friends acrobatic feats.

He crept closer still making sure to keep within the cover of the tree line lest Granger see him, and settled in to watch.

It wasn't like he could approach the girl anyway; with that amount of magic flying around he wouldn't even make it half way across the clearing before he was burnt to a crisp.

He watched her duck, dive and weave with all the grace of a ballerina, but, inevitably, the lactic acid started to build in her muscles and her movements became less sharp, less focused.

Her fatigue was also clear to see in the ever diminishing accuracy of her spells.

He wasn't sure how long he'd stood there watching her, before he saw her make her first costing mistake, even with the blindfold she had been doing spectacularly well in avoiding the spell fire. But the girl looked like she was on her last legs and one stray moment of inattention cost her.

Severus could do nothing but watch as one of the last working dummies fired an Aduro towards her back; she failed to duck out of the way fast enough and the scorching hex clipped her unprotected shoulder.

With a hiss of pain the Potter girl dropped closer to the floor and fired off several hex's in the dummies direction. Though only one got anywhere near its intended target.

Apparently unperturbed by her quickly blistering shoulder the girl continued with the simulation, until finally the last of the dummies were dispatched.

The silence was almost deafening when everything suddenly ceased and the Potter girl leant forwards with her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath.

She was soaked in sweat, covered in forest detritus and she'd certainly need some salve on that burn as soon as possible if she didn't want it to scar, but even Severus could grudgingly admit that she'd done rather well.

There was plenty of room for improvement, but he doubted any of the Hogwarts students could do better.

Deciding to finally avail the two girls of his presence Severus moved away from the tree he'd perched himself against and made to walk forwards, but apparently the Potter girl was still entrenched in battle mode. Because when he accidentally stepped on a clump of dried twigs the girl instantly zeroed in on the sound and fired several hex's in his direction.

"Harmony no!"

He fleetingly glimpsed Granger's horrified expression just before the spells made contact.

**Right so...hope you enjoyed this chapter... grabs shield and runs for it. **

**See Y'all next week**

**Bye!**

**(^^)**


	9. Tattlers and Taboos

**Hi New week new chapter **

**Enjoy!**

Harmony could feel her energy starting to flag.

Her right calf began to cramp; she attempted to shake it slightly to ease the ache, but her few moments of inattention cost her and she missed the sound of a dummy getting ready to fire.

The noise of the hex heading for her back registered just in time. Though even her best efforts to avoid the spell weren't enough, and it clipped her shoulder as it raced passed her head.

Hissing as the magic seared into her skin, Harmony dropped closer to the ground; firing off a volley of hexs in the direction of the dummy and hoping that they hit their mark.

Gritting her teeth she did her best to block out the pain in her shoulder and continued to battle the remaining dummies. Though she suspected if the simulation didn't end soon then she'd be done in before the dummies were.

After an unfathomable amount of time, her spells made contact with the final dummy and the clearing went silent. The spell fire seemed to have scared away the wildlife that had been there at the start of her training, and now all she could hear was the harsh echo of her own heavy breathing.

Harmony leant forwards placing her hands on her thighs; attempting to catch her breath.

She was exhausted and now that the simulation had come to an end all she had to concentrate on was the deep set ache in her limbs and the burn on her shoulder that felt like someone had poured boiling oil over her skin.

Standing up, Harmony took a deep breath and was preparing to remove the blindfold, when an almighty crack echoed off to her left.

Not even thinking about the fact that the noise sounded nothing like the ones she normally heard during training. Harmony dropped into her customary crouch and aimed several scorching hex's in the direction she thought the sound had come from.

Clearly one of the dummies had been playing dead.

They did that sometimes, Eddy said it was to teach you not to become complacent with your apparent victories.

The last spell left her fingertips, just as her friends urgent voice echoed through the clearing.

"Harmony, No!."

She didn't get chance to ask Hermione why she was shouting, before the sound of feet hurriedly crunching through the leaf litter reached her ears and the blindfold was ripped from her head.

Harmony blinked rapidly as light suddenly entered her eyes.

She turned towards her friend with a glare, thoroughly intent on castigating her for walking through the middle of an apparently still active simulation, but she never got the chance. She had just a brief glimpse of her friends worried eyes before she was unceremoniously grabbed by the arms and spun none to gently in the direction she sent her last batch of hexs.

Any thought of reprimanding her friend fled as she was confronted with the reason for Hermione's worried urgency.

Apparently the sound hadn't come from a dummy that was playing dead, but from a man who'd been walking towards them. A vaguely familiar looking man, that had barely avoided being flambéed if the smoking scorch marks on the tree he was shielding behind were any indication.

"Shit!"

Apparently happy he was no longer in danger of being roasted, the man moved away from the tree and walked into the clearing; stopping scant feet in front of them.

His lip was curled, baring his slightly yellowed teeth, while his eyes conveyed nothing but flinty anger.

He looked far from pleased, and Harmony honestly couldn't blame him for that, she doubted she would've looked any different if someone had nearly beheaded her with a poorly aimed Aduro.

"Quite Miss Potter."

Harmony noted that his voice had a rich, smooth cadence and would've been a treat to simply sit and listen to, if it hadn't been soaked in such an obvious amount of scorn, that his words were drowning in it.

"Perhaps next time you will think before you go throwing hexs around while wearing a blindfold."

There were many things that Harmony could have and perhaps should have said in response to this.

For example she should've apologised for nearly taking his head off, she could've explained it was simply part of her training.

She could even have politely enquired what he was doing in the trees in the first place.

But what actually came out was.

"Well it's not my fault that you're lurking around in the trees like some sort of fucking creep."

_"Harmmonny."_

Her friend released a mortified moan as she put her hands over her face.

Harmony probably would've felt mortified to, if she wasn't so used to her mouth opening before her brain had time to think.

As it was, all she managed in recompense for the ill thought out comment was an apologetic grimace that she directed towards the fuming man.

"I happen to be lurking around, Miss Potter." He spat.

"Because I have been sent to retrieve you. The headmistress wishes to see you about an incident that took place with one of the professors last night. Though I shouldn't need to tell which professor, as I am quite sure you remember the incident well enough."

Harmony eyed the man and realised why he looked familiar, he was the one who'd interrupted her and James's fight the night prior.

Harmony felt a scowl cross her face.

"Since you were actually present during the latter half of said incident, I am going to assume you've not told your headmistress why I did what I did."

The man scowled right back, and Harmony absently wondered if he could tell her how he made his scowls so effective.

Her own scowls were reasonably good, but his looked like it could peel paint with nothing more than a curl of his upper lip.

She wanted that power too.

"Of course I haven't said anything you stupid girl, it is not my place to get idiots out of trouble. If you had not been wandering through the castle as if you owned the place, you would not have been accosted by Potter at all, so the incident is entirely your fault."

Forgetting her momentary appreciation for the mans rather spectacular scowl, Harmony released an agitated huff and was about to tell him exactly what she thought about that. When the feel of her friends hands on her arm stopped her in her tracks.

"Yes Professor, we are more than aware that it is not your place to get us out of trouble. I take it the headmistress wishes to see Harmony in her office."

"Still adept at sticking you nose where it's not wanted, aren't we Granger." Snape raised an eyebrow at her before levelling her with a look of contempt.

"But yes, the headmistress does wish to see Miss Potter in her office. It is my unfortunate duty to have to deliver her there, and since I have already been forced to waste my time watching your awful display of defence magic against a small contingent of sub par training dummies, I will not wait any longer. You will leave your things as they are and come with me now, so that I may get back to more important matters than escorting erstwhile students up to the headmistress."

With that he turned on his heel and strode with purpose towards the edge of the clearing; disappearing into the tree line, clearly expecting Harmony to follow without question.

The two girls shared a look as he disappeared from sight, without a word being uttered Hermione went and grabbed her satchel before they both rushed off after the professor. Hoping they could catch up with the man before he noticed their absence.

Unfortunately it appeared that lady luck simply wasn't on Harmony's side that morning, because as they broke through the tree and out into Hogwarts grounds proper, the professor was already waiting for them; a glower etched into his sallow face as he agitatedly tapped his wand against his leg.

"I expect you to keep up Miss Potter. I am not Bo bloody Peep."

Despite his clear agitation, the professors voice remained a monotone drawl. His body language was literally the only thing belying his emotions.

"If you loose me again I will let you find the Headmistresses office on your own. I was forced to abandon my lesson in order to come and retrieve you, a lesson that I would very much like to get back to before someone blows my classroom to kingdom come. And Miss Granger, I do not remember saying that your presence was requested. Go back to your carriage and stay there. I am quite sure that you will be given the chance to say goodbye to your little friend before she is forced off the grounds for her miss deeds."

Snape's gaze bore into Hermione's head; taking a deep breath she pulled herself up to her full height, before looking the man straight in the eyes.

"With all due respect professor. You are not my teacher anymore. You can't tell me what to do. You may want me to go back to the carriage, but I refuse to leave Harmony in the hands of teachers who've proved they will not listen to reason, even when the cold facts are laid out for all to see."

Snape's glare ratcheted up several notches and Harmony had to wonder how her friend was still breathing. Honestly it looked like the man was trying to kill her with his eyes alone.

Clearly furious that he'd been unable to intimidate a former student into cowering to his wishes, the man stalked off towards the castle, not even waiting to see if the two girls were following him or not.

"Have you got the book." Harmony asked quietly, mindful that even with distance, the professor might still be able to hear her words if they carried right.

"Yes." Answered Hermione as she watched Snape walk up the steps towards the entrance hall. "I just hope they believe that we're telling the truth about entering ourselves. Without witnesses, I have no idea how we're going to prove we've put our names in. Certainly not without putting the taboo under enough strain that it'll incite the Geasan to punish us."

Hermione worried at her lower lip and Harmony gave her a nudge as they walked through the doors into the entrance hall.

"Well if worse comes to worse at least the only thing we'll initially loose is our voice, I imagine you'd like a break from my nattering." Harmony said, trying to put some light into a rather serious situation.

Hermione snorted. "Yeah. Just as long as they don't try and put us through the entire thing just to prove a point."

"You really think they'd-"

"No… well I would hope not anyway. Besides if they try and force us off the grounds the Geasan will be just as horrid to them as it would be to us. So it really comes down to whether or not they're willing to risk their own lives for the sake of proving that we might be lying."

The two girls fell into a contemplative silence as the professor led them up the main staircase and further into the depths of the castle.

Eventually he escorted them to a deserted corridor, who's only defining feature seemed to be a rather large statue of a gargoyle. Bizarrely the man led them straight to the statue where he came to halt, forcing Harmony and Hermione to come to an abrupt stop behind him.

"Invictus." The professor sounded so very put upon as he uttered the word, though Harmony had no idea why. After a couple of seconds the statue grindingly moved to the side, revealing a spiral staircase hidden away behind it.

He stepped onto the stone steps, but turned towards the two girls when he realised that the staircase wasn't moving him towards the office as it should.

"Do get on. I haven't got all bloody day for you two to stand there like a pair of gormless idiots."

The pair glanced at each other, before cautiously doing as the professor asked.

They'd barely gotten their feet planted on the steps, when the gargoyle started to move back into position and the staircase began to propel them up towards, what Harmony could only assume, was the headmistresses office.

The stairs seemed to take aeons, but eventually they came to a stop, depositing them in front of an ornately carved oak door, that seemed to be decorated with the heraldry of the four Hogwarts founders.

Not that Harmony had much chance to take in the intricate carvings on the door, before the professor was barging through it without even knocking.

The pairs eyes caught once more, before they followed the professor through the open door and into the spacious office beyond.

Instantly it reminded Harmony of the small cottage Sirius had up in the highlands. She'd only been there a few times but it'd left a lasting impression, it was one of the few truly cosy spaces that Harmony had come across since she'd been forced out of her childhood home, and this office held the same air to it despite it's size.

The room itself was festooned in tartan. The carpets, the windows, the seats, and even the walls hadn't managed to escape the Scottish touch. Though Harmony noted that one wall directly next to the large stone fireplace, was covered in so much Gryffindor paraphernalia that only the barest hint of the emerald green wallpaper peeked through.

The offices owner was currently sat behind a large ornately carved desk, having a whispered conversation with the professor who'd brought them there.

Apparently realising that the girls had now entered her domain, she cut the conversation short.

Looking at them over the top of the small pair of wire frames that were perched on the end of her nose, she gestured to the soft red and gold chairs in front of her desk; inviting them to take a seat, before turning back to her colleague.

"Thank you for retrieving the student Severus." The woman's tone was civil enough, though Harmony noted it was a tad dismissive considering the man had apparently been dragged out of lessons to do her bidding.

The man gave the two girls a narrow look, his eyes settling near Harmony's burnt shoulder for a few seconds, before he gave the headmistress a solemn nod. Without a word he left the room on whisper quiet feet; shutting the door behind him with a barely audible snick.

Mcgonagall inspected the pair sat across from her and had to say that she wasn't impressed by what she saw.

The brown haired girl looked well enough put together, but the other one looked like she'd recently gone six rounds with a troll. Though perhaps that wasn't so surprising given what James and Olympe had told her about this particular child.

Apparently she was very much a delinquent in the making, and this coming from James Potter of all people was not a glowing assessment in the slightest.

"I am going to be blunt Miss Potter." Started the headmistress after several minutes of silence that had been filled with nothing but the metronomic tick of the carriage clock she kept on the mantle.

"One of my professors came to me this morning with a most disturbing tale and it is now up to me to work out what must be done in light of the issue. I had hoped to have this chat with you in private." Mcgonagall stated, before looking directly Hermione. "But I take it you are here as her moral support Miss..?"

"Granger." Said Hermione. "Though I would've thought you should remember that. I was, after all, a student here before I transferred and I was in this office often enough to complain about the bullying that made me leave in the first place. But yes I am here as moral support for her and I won't be leaving this office until she does." She finished somewhat defiantly.

"There's no need for the tone Miss Granger, I will not make you leave. Though it should go without saying that I will make you leave should you interrupt while I am talking to Miss Potter about the incident in question."

Hermione nodded, barely containing the indignation she felt at having been so easily dismissed and apparently forgotten by her former headmistress.

"Good."

McGonagall once more turned her attention on to Harmony, apparently not the least bit bothered about the fact that she'd forgotten who Hermione was.

"Miss Potter, one of my professors told me something most distressing this morning when I enquired as to how he had gained a severely bruised cheek during the night. According to the professor in question, he was the victim of a vicious and completely unprovoked attack that took place not long after the opening feast concluded; he has fingered you as his attacker. Do you wish to deny his claims?"

Harmony ground her teeth together and answered the headmistress in as controlled a manner as she could manage, when all she really wanted to do was go and punch James Potter in his smug fucking face.

"I can't deny that I slapped him." Stated Harmony. "But I can honestly say that the altercation was not a physical assault to the extent the _'professor' _seems to have implied, nor was the single slap I administered to his face unprovoked."

"So you are saying he provoked the physical response. Is that correct?"

"Yes."

"And that other than the slap you _are_ willing to acknowledge, you did not touch him in a physical or violent manner. Is that also correct?"

"Yes." Harmony ground out.

Mcgonagall leaned back in her seat, steepling her fingers and giving the girl a long hard look.

"Well I have to say Miss Potter, that is not the story the professor has told me and even if he did provoke you, surely a girl of your age must be aware that there are serious consequences for attacking a member of my staff. Not to mention that fact that the man in question is also your father. He is immensely cut up about the whole incident and believes it would be best if you were sent back to France, to give you both a chance to cool down; I have to say I can currently find no reason not to agree with him."

"So that's it then you're just going to take that liars word over hers." Said Hermione, feeling her ire starting to build.

"Miss Granger, she has admitted to slapping him, and even if the altercation was not to the extent that professor has intoned, it is apparent that she cannot stay in Hogwarts. How can I, in good conscience, let her remain on the grounds if her first response to having been told she shouldn't do something is to lash out in a physical manner."

"What exactly did he say I _"assaulted"_ him for." They say curiosity killed the cat, but Harmony wanted to know what the dickhead had said she'd dome to him.

The headmistress gave her an imperious look, but Harmony wasn't cowed by this and simply waited for an answer.

"Apparently he asked you not to enter the tournament because he, rightfully, feared for your safety should you get picked to be champion. When he attempted to get you to see reason and go back to France as soon as possible to avoid temptation you lost your temper and lashed out."

Harmony couldn't help herself and she started to laugh in disbelief, she truly couldn't believe the amount of horse shit that flowed completely unhindered from James Potters mouth.

"Miss Potter!" McGonagall sounded scandalised. "This is not a laughing matter. You have attacked a member of my staff and yet you seem to feel no remorse for your actions."

Harmony gave the headmistress a hard look, any type of incredulous amusement she might have got from the situation drained away very quickly with the woman's words.

"Remorse for that man, you must be joking."

"He is your father Miss Potter, you should feel-"

"That man is not my fucking father." Harmony shouted as she stood from her chair; her temper finally snapping in the face of the headmistresses crusade to paint James Potter as a hard done by victim.

"That man, is the sack of shit who abandoned his ten year old daughter, because he couldn't bare the sight of her anymore. He is the same man who sent a scared eleven year old overseas to a boarding school in a foreign country because he couldn't just learn to be a fucking adult. He's also the man who decided to try and physically drag said daughter from this school, in a grip hard enough to bruise I might add, after setting eyes on her for the first time in six years! Before then proceeding to call her an inferior copy of his dead wife. So no, that man is certainly many things, but he is not a victim requiring remorse nor is he someone deserving of the title father."

Harmony's rant came to an end; feeling the shocked eyes of the headmistress on her, she looked away and sunk down into the seat behind her.

The headmistress was clearly one of James' supporters, and Harmony refused to let her emotions get the better of her anymore than they already had in front of the woman. I wouldn't do to give the enemy anymore ammunition.

Apparently McGonagall really didn't know what to say in the face of Harmony's tirade, because the silence stretched before them for an uncomfortable amount of time before the headmistress cleared her throat slightly; enquiring if either of them would like a cup of tea.

Completely blindsided by the out place question Harmony mutely nodded in acquiescence as did Hermione who looked just as confused.

Dutifully they accepted the porcelain cups handed to them, though neither of them took a drink.

"I will not say that I have any idea about the type of emotional turmoil Professor Potter may have put you through during your late childhood, nor can I truly say I know anything about the type of man he may be outside of these four walls. However what you have intoned about last nights events differs greatly from the story the professor has told me, and I am now in a position where I must either believe the words of a man I have known most of his life, or the words of a girl I've only just met."

Mcgonagall's voice held the barest hint of compassion telling Harmony everything she needed to know, before the woman even said it.

Harmony felt her fight leave her, it was never going to matter what evidence she presented was it?

While you are still perceived to be a child, it seemed no adult in a true position of power would ever listen to reason until you forced their hand. And people wondered why she circumvented the rules so often.

"Given that there are no other witnesses to the event, I am afraid to say my hands are tied and I must believe my professors testimony above yours. I will therefore request that Madame Maxime remove you from Hogwarts at the earliest opportunity."

Hermione glowered at the headmistress on her friends behalf and set the tea cup down on the desk. "So that's it then. You'd already decided what you were going to do with her. Hadn't you!"

"As I said my hands are tied, there is no proof that what Miss Potter has mentioned is the correct version of events. On the other hand she has admitted to hitting him and he has physical evidence, in the form of bruising, that backs up his claim."

Hermione grabbed hold of a strangely unresisting Harmony's arm and thrust it across the headmistresses desk.

"Is this not physical proof enough." She asked, pointing to the ring of dark red slightly purpled bruising just above Harmony's elbow.

The headmistress raised an eyebrow at the girls tone, but let it slide for the moment. "Given the current state Miss Potter is in, there is a very good chance that bruising has nothing to do with the professor in question. If anything her current state indicates that the professor is not the last person she has had an altercation with and she's barely been at Hogwarts more than twelve hours."

"I was doing defence training when the professor came to collect me. That's why I look like this" Stated Harmony a little hollowly. "I am not some delinquent out to cause trouble. No matter what James or Madame Maxime." Harmony gave the woman a significant look. "May have implied about me."

The headmistress looked disquieted on being called out about her possible prejudices, but steamed forwards regardless quite sure she wasn't in the wrong with her assumptions. "You have admitted to attacking the professor, Miss Potter. So I repeat I will ask your headmistress to remove you from my school at her earliest connivance."

"That professor saw it." Harmony knew she sounded desperate, but she wanted to headmistress to see reason without her bringing the Geasan in to it; she knew as soon she bought that up the image the headmistress had in her head about her being some sort of violent trouble maker would be sealed.

"Professor?" Enquired McGonagall.

"The one who bought us in here, He interrupted us when me and James were arguing."

"Ah, you're talking about Professor Snape. Unfortunately his testimony would be of little use." Said McGonagall as she set down her teacup with a precise chink.

"There is a deep set animosity between Professor Snape and Professor Potter. I could not in good conscience take his testimony about the incident as truth. Not when he could very well lie simply to cast aspersions against his colleague."

"This is pathetic." Growled Hermione really loosing her temper. She slammed her hands down on top of the headmistresses desk causing the silver tea service to rattle alarmingly.

"It doesn't matter what either of us say, you are going to take James Potters word as gospel not matter what. This school hasn't changed one jot has it. It's still full of the same simple minded people who can't see past their own prejudices and self belief long enough to grasp the bigger picture. You're never going to fucking chang-"

"Miss Granger that is enough. Unless you wish to be escorted back to France with your friend, then I suggest you keep your opinion about the schools moral fibre to yourself."

"Neither of us will be going back to France headmistress." Harmony said tiredly, setting her cup on the desk so she could rub at her forehead.

She really was wondering if coming to Hogwarts had been worth all this drama.

"Well you certainly aren't staying here. I cannot permit you to remai-"

"You can't force us to leave either. The consequences for you would be very serious If you were to try." Asserted Harmony cutting the woman off.

"Is that a threat Miss Potter." Mcgonagall's glasses glinted dangerously as she glared the girl down, any hint of compassion had left the woman long ago and her voice was now nothing but pure steel.

"I will not be threatened in my own school, in my own office no less, by a girl barely into her majority. You _shall, _be sent back to France and there is nothing you can say that will prevent me from following through with that."

"I am not threatening you Headmistress, I am simply stating a fact. You can evict neither myself nor Hermione from this school if we've put our names in the goblet of fire." Harmony stated.

"Not right away certainly, but after the champions have been announced there is nothing to stop me sending either of you back to where you came from, lets be honest shall we girls. There is little chance of either of you getting picked as champion; therefore I am not restricted in my ability to send you on your way once the official proceedings come to an end later tonight."

Mcgonagall's tone reeked of condescension, setting Harmony's teeth on edge.

"Why should we be any less likely to be picked than any of the others who might've entered their names." Harmony demanded. "Besides I wasn't talking about if one of us got picked as champion. If you'd done your research you'd know that anyone who gives their name to the impartial judge is automatically bound by the same Geasan as the chosen three."

The headmistress scoffed. "Miss Potter you are grasping at straws. There is no such binding in place for the entrants who are not picked."

"Actually Headmistress, there is." Harmony stated as she gave the woman a steely look of her own.

Having apparently realised that the time for presenting their evidence was at hand, Hermione handed Harmony the book she needed without any prompting.

"I am going to assume, that you are not familiar with this." Harmony said, as she gently placed the fragile book on the headmistresses desk.

McGonagall leant forwards to read the peeling silver words that had been embossed into the cracked violet leather.

The title briefly shimmered as she read it, indicating the presence of a some sort of spell.

_Fun or Fatal_

_The ultimate compendium of Wizarding Games and Tournaments. _

_Volume __**IV**_

_By Felix Felton Feathergill_

_3__rd__ Edition_

"No, miss Potter. Your assumption is quite correct I am not familiar with this book." Mcgonagall's face was carefully blank as she turned her attention back on the girls.

Harmony nodded and picked the book up, before carefully turning to a section towards the back. Gently she removed the thin scrap of silk that Hermione used as a bookmark in her more fragile tome's and placed the open pages in front of the headmistress for perusal.

"If you read this, I think you will find ample evidence to back up mine and Hermione's claims that the goblets Geasan extends to all entrants of the tournament once their names have been submitted."

The headmistress barely glanced at the vaguely shimmering pages, before levelling the pair with a narrow eyed look.

"The department of Games and sports has gone over this tournament with a fine tooth comb; if what you are claiming truly existed, I would already have been informed of it. I truly cannot believe that two teenage witches would've stumbled across something of this magnitude with such relative ease, when an entire department of trained wizards and witches have apparently not found a single hint of it in close to six months of preparations."

McGonagall leaned back in her chair, a superior look crossing her face.

"Therefore I find it more plausible that you two have in fact desecrated an old text, and manipulated it so that the information it provides matches with the cock and bull story you are trying to feed me, in order that Miss Potter might avoid punishment. The books shimmering pages and title, clearly indicate that it has recently been imbibed with some sort of spell. So it really is no great of logic for me to come to the conclusion that you are lying through your teeth."

Harmony glowered.

"Are you always this dismissive of people simply because of their age and the aspersions that have been cast on their characters by others, or are we a special case."

"Miss Potter-"

Harmony cut her off. "No headmistress, with all due respect you've had your say. I do believe it's my turn-"

"I will no-"

"-The book-" Harmony said loudly talking over the top of the Headmistresses attempts to cut her off.

"-Has not been tampered with in any form. The charms on it's pages are for translation purposes only, since the book is written in a rather old dialect of French which neither myself nor Hermione have the ability to read. You are more than welcome to cancel the charms and employ ones of your own. If you really are that desperate to try and prove that we are lying, but I can tell you now that it will be a wasted effort. We are not lying about the Geasan terms or the consequences that would befall you should you attempt to force us to leave the tournaments boundaries."

Harmony leant forwards and tapped the books pages with her fingers.

"The proof is right here in black and white. I am not asking you to take my claims on blind faith, nor would I expect you to."

The headmistress had finally stopped trying to talk over her, though the look on her face couldn't be called anything other than mutinous.

"All I am asking is that you read the information, so that you may reach the same conclusion myself and Hermione did. Or are you really that scared of being proved wrong by a pair of _"witches barely into their majority"._ That you would rather send us packing and risk not just our lives, but yours as well."

The headmistresses mouth pinched and Harmony was sure her eyes could've set fire to her if they were given half a chance.

The woman's body language screamed that all she really wanted to do was grab them both by the scruff of the neck, and throw them out of her precious castle as soon as possible.

But apparently the headmistress was more cautious than her gratuitous use of Gryffindor paraphernalia would indicate; with all the finesse of a woman used to controlling her anger, she pulled the book towards her.

The first thing she did was tap the book with her wand and cancel the spells on it pages. The shimmering ceased and the jumble of old French that not even Hermione had been able to wrap her head around appeared on the water stained pages.

Another tap and the book glowed a light amber colour that Harmony knew indicated a detection spell at work. The headmistress looked very displeased when the spell dissipated without turning ruby red.

No red meant the book was as original as the day it was printed.

Just like Harmony had told her it would be.

"Vox varatatis." Intoned McGonagall; the book briefly glowed electric blue before an old voice began to emanate from its pages.

Harmony was going to make sure to try and remember that spell for future reference. A spell that made the books read to you could be indispensable with Hermione as a friend.

_...now my dear reader, we come to a tournament that many have heard of but very few will ever_ _have the pleasure of witnessing and even fewer will ever have the dubious honour of entering. I am of course talking of the Triwizard Tournament. _

_The Triwizard tournament takes place every five years as a sign of the_ _friendship between the three biggest institutions of magic, that reside in the eastern hemisphere at this present juncture in time. _

_It has gained massive notoriety in recent centuries;_ _in part for the frequent and often grizzly deaths of its young champions, but also for being one of the few tournaments that compel its competitors to compete to the bitter end through the use of a Geasan. _

_A contract that will forfeit the chosen of their lives should they break the tournaments taboo stipulating that none shall leave its boundaries while the tournament is in session._

_Originally, this barbaric contract was only shackled around the necks of those that had the dubious honour of being chosen as champion. _

_However in 1324 Headmaster Emond Boryslav of Durmstrang academy absconded from the tournament with his progeny after witnessing his champion, one Vladimir Prustine, die a most gruesome death at the hands of a mountain troll._

_Initially this was not seen as a great loss and Beauxbatons and Hogwarts champions competed against each other in the final two tasks unhindered._

_However when such time came for an official winner to be announced, so that the tournament could be officially __closed__,_ _the impartial judge refused __to do so._

_It is thought that the lack of a third champion __incited the__ judge believe the tournament had not been completed and inevitably when the other two champions were forced to depart, the Geasan took their lives. Only with all three champions dead did the judges energy die; allowing the tournament to finally come to a close._

_In the face of this debacle Professor Elwin Webstor, the creator of the judge, __w__as employed to alter the Geasan and prevent a similar tragedy occurring during the tournament __set to__ be opened in October 1329. _

_He is reputed to have taken the judge back to it's sacred_ _place of creation and incited the Geasan_ _to bind to_ _all who willingly submitted themselves to the tournament. Ensuring that none of the_ _entrants_ _ might leave the tournaments bounds for a_ _prolonged period of time, whether that was_ _through; free will, coercion or blatant removal by another. _

_This guaranteed_ _that the judge would always have a ready pool of replacements to choose a new champion from, should one of the original chosen three expire, thus ensuring that the tournament could be bought to a satisfactory close. _

_It was hoped this amendment might prevent a tragedy_ _similar to the one of_ _1324 happening again._

_Any original copies of the Geasan terms have long since been lost to the annals of history. However through diligent research I have been able to find a copy of the altered 1325 terms, that I present in print for the first time for your scholarly plea... _

The sound of the thick book suddenly being slammed shut made the two girls jump in their seats and the office became oddly silent now that the tomes dulcet tones had been cut off.

Without a word to the either of them, Mcgonagall snatched the book up from the desk and marched agitatedly over to the fireplace. Wedging the tome under her arm she roughly opened a small gold pot that was sat on her mantle and threw a handful of powder into the flames, instantly turning them green.

"Mister MacFarlan's office, Department of Magical Games and Sports. Ministry of Magic." She bit out as she stepped into the fire. Leaving the two bewildered girls without a single word of explanation.

Neither Harmony nor Hermione spoke for a few minutes, not really sure what to make of Mcgonagall's abrupt departure.

"Well." Started Hermione finally breaking the silence. "That was..er.. unexpected."

"Yeah, there was a lot of things I was expecting that she might do. But it wasn't that."

Harmony stared at the empty grate for a few seconds before turning to her friend.

"I really hope she's not doing something that might damage the book."

Hermione beamed. "See Harmony, I knew you cared about books as much as I do."

"I really don't. I'm simply worried because she'd just walked off with the only evidence we have that this exists. What if she deliberately damages it so that we can't prove anything."

Hermione shook her head. "I'm sure she won't. Mcgonagall can turn a blind eye with the best of them, but to blatantly ignore that book would be suicidal."

Harmony hummed in agreement as she got up to inspect the rest of the room.

She ran her hands over the edges of the handsome desk, glancing at a few of the photos the headmistress had arranged along the side, before walking behind the back of the headmistresses chair and taking in the spectacular view from the office windows.

Hermione silently joined her after a little while, taking in the view the same as Harmony.

"I wonder if the window's enchanted. This is exactly the same view you get from the girls dorms up in the tower." Hermione's voice held a definite tone of wistfulness as she took in the vista.

"Is it?"

"Yes, I used to sit in the window seat in my dorm for hours. Most of the time I was working, but sometimes I would just sit and look at the view. It really was the best place to be when you felt to rotten to be bothered with much else."

Harmony nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I know what you mean. Though my place isn't a stable window seat. You know me, I'd much rather contemplate my life at a hundred and fifty miles an hour, with nothing but a highly polished piece of wood between my legs to stop me from hitting the ground."

"That's because you're not sane."

Harmony smiled. "Thank you."

Hermione huffed and rolled her eyes, not looking away from the view. "That wasn't a compliment." She said before unthinkingly swatting her friends shoulder.

"Fuck!" Yelped Harmony grasping at the burned shoulder.

"Shit! Sorry. I forgot about your shoulder. I didn't hurt you to badly." Hermione said leaning closer to inspect her friends blistered skin. "Did I?"

Harmony waved off her friends concerns, she wasn't about to tell her that her shoulder currently felt like someone had poured lemon juice over several dozen paper cuts, before taking a torch to it.

"Nah its fine." Harmony tried to sound nonchalant but she wasn't sure she managed to pull it off. "Looks worse than it is."

"Why did you shout then if it didn't hurt." Hermione crossed her arms over her chest and gave her friend a sceptical look.

"Er.. you startled me?" Even to Harmony's ears it sounded like a question and her friend didn't look the least bit impressed with her answer.

"Harmony Potter, so help me if you're lyin-" Hermione was cut off by the sound of the floo activating behind them.

Forgetting about the fact that she was about to read her friend the riot act, Hermione turned away from the window and Harmony followed her. The headmistress already had a low opinion of them, it wouldn't do for her to also think they were the type to snoop through her personal files.

They settled themselves in the seats, just as Mcgonagall stepped out of the green flames.

Oddly she looked more agitated than she had when she'd left.

As she moved away from the fireplace, she gave her wand a brusque flick to remove the smuts clinging to her long red dress.

Harmony was relieved to see that she still had the book tucked securely under her arm. Though the relief was short lived, because as soon as the woman got near she pulled the book out from under her arm and threw it down on top of the desk with a loud bang.

Harmony would've protested the treatment of such a delicate object, but the woman looked so frazzled that Harmony thought it was probably better to keep her mouth shut for the time being.

The woman started to pace back and forth behind her desk; eventually her terse voice broke through the tense silence that had settled over the office.

"It would appear Miss Potter." Started McGonagall. "That what your book says is indeed correct. Mr MacFarlan and his department are very much aware of the clause and he apparently thought I was too."

Her tone told Harmony exactly what she thought of the mans intelligence.

"So you are quite correct in your assumption that I will not able to remove either you or Miss Granger from the grounds, _If_, you have entered you names into the goblet."

Harmony could feel a smug smile trying to work its way onto her lips, and she tried to hold it back, it wouldn't do to engage more of the woman's ire.

Mcgonagall stopped pacing; her face was filled with cold fury. Apparently she didn't appreciate being made to look a fool in front of a ministry official.

"However, I do not believe that either of you have entered the tournament. I think you have found this information and then decided to use it in order to attack one of my staff with impunity. I cannot believe that anyone who'd read up about the tournament as extensively as you two apparently have would then still submit themselves."

Harmony felt her mouth drop in disbelief, even as Hermione tried to deny the woman's accusations.

"But we have. Why would we have come all this way not to enter the tournament." Said Hermione vehemently. "And besides you have no way of proving that we haven't submitted our names, not without inciting the Geasan, and that would put you in just as much danger as us. You really have no choice but to believe us."

"That is where you're wrong Miss Granger." Mcgonagall said as she moved away from the window and towards her office door. "You two will follow me so that we can get this settled. I have a school to run, and no more time to be dealing with a pair of trouble makers who are trying to bend rules for their own ends."

"But-" started Harmony

"Now Miss Potter." McGonagall voice was cold and brokered no argument.

Not seeing anyway out of whatever the woman had planned, the two girls rose from their seats; Harmony only just remembered to grab the book from the desk as the headmistress ushered them out of her office and down the spiral staircase.

Harmony was willing to just follow the woman in silence but apparently Hermione wasn't content to resign herself to her fate.

"-No witnesses headmistress. Without them you have no way of proving-" Harmony kept one ear on Hermione as she tried to reason with the woman, but even as they were walking into an unknown situation Harmony was still more interested in her surroundings than on whatever convoluted idiocy the headmistress could come up with.

After all it was quite clear that it wouldn't matter what they said to her, she was determined to view her and by extension Hermione as liars one way or another.

As she followed after the arguing pair, Harmony ideally noted that the amount of students lingering in the corridors seemed to be increasing. Her stomach released a low gurgle reminding her that it'd been a while since they'd had breakfast.

She wondered how angry the Scottish woman would become if she tried to suggest that they stop for some lunch before doing whatever it was the she wanted them to.

After walking around what seemed like and endless array of corridors and staircases, Mcgonagall bought them to a stop at the back of a thick crowd of students, milling around the entrance hall.

The headmistress forced her way through the crush and the two girls followed, gaining themselves some rather aggravated looks when they accidentally elbowed several people.

Apparently Harmony's stomach hadn't been lying when it'd told her it was lunch time, the crowd was simply to thick for classes to have still been in session.

The fact that it was lunch time apparently wasn't the only draw for the thick crowd however, because when they finally made their way to the front of the horde Harmony could see a small group of Hogwarts boys, all wearing robes edged in scarlet; waiting to put their names in the Goblet.

Whispers echoed around the mass as a tall boy with dark blond hair and an upturned nose took his turn and dropped his parchment into the enchanted flames.

Curiously that flames didn't jump up to meet the parchment piece like it had for her and Hermione.

It simply floated down, slowly burning until the entry was no more.

Apparently this slightly lacklustre spectacle was enough for the Hogwarts crowd and more than a few of them began to clap at the sight of this particular boys name being submitted.

A loud wolf whistle coming from the edge of the mass drew Harmony's, and everyone else's, attention.

She felt a scowl cross her face at the sight of James Potter enthusiastically cheering for this unknown boy.

For his part the boy seemed to rather enjoy the over the top attention and gave the crowd a bow and a smug smile that was all teeth.

Disconcertingly, he reminded Harmony of Gilderoy Lockhart, a complete hack of a wizard who temped for their defence classes in third year.

She had no idea what had happened to the man, but he'd been found out as being a hack and he hadn't returned to the school the following year. Something Harmony had been immensely glad of, she'd always gotten some seriously creepy vibes from the man whenever she'd had to serve a detention with him.

The sound of one of the students hectoring another drew Harmony's attention away from where she'd been staring vacantly at the Lockhart look a like, and toward a red head stood at the edge of the crowd.

"Come on Neville. Just do it mate, we all have. S'not like you've got to worry about being picked."

There were several snickers, and Harmony didn't know if the red head was so naive that he couldn't understand how degrading those words were, or if he was a bully who was trying to play the part of a friend.

"Yes, come along Mr Longbottom. Our houses honour is currently at stake. Just think about what your grandmother would say if you didn't take this opportunity to show your metal like a true Gryffindor."

James gave the boy a shove towards the Goblet.

Harmony imagined it was supposed to look friendly or encouraging. But to her it looked like the mark of a bully, the boy was clearly reluctant to enter his name and yet no one was sticking up for him.

This was an example of peer pressure at it's finest.

It was disgusting.

Mcgonagall's voice echoed around the entrance hall and the chattering students quieted.

"Professor Potter I do hope you're not forcing your students to enter the tournament."

James apparently hadn't noticed Harmony yet, because he smiled charmingly at the woman. "Of course not Minerva, just giving them a bit of moral support is all."

The headmistress eyed James for a few moments, before shaking her head in the manner of a mother who'd caught their child sticking their hand in the biscuit tin one too many times and simply no longer cared if they were full to the gills with custard creams, just as long as it wasn't her that was cleaning up the sick.

Harmony was incredulous, how could the woman not say something. Any idiot could see that the boy didn't want to enter the tournament, and yet Mcgonagall was simply going to let it slide.

What type of school was this!

"Well I'm afraid I shall have to delay Mister Longbottom's submittance."

The boys shoulders sagged in relief, if he wasn't being coerced into entering his name than Harmony was a fucking unicorn.

"I need to commandeer the Goblet for a few moments, I promise mister Longbottom will not have to wait long to take his turn."

Apparently the boy had no intention of waiting, because he mumbled something about greenhouses and fled the scene, even as Mcgonagall walked towards the goblet to do who knew what.

"Salazar what a coward."

Harmony looked to her left, and saw that a blond boy with a pointy face was snickering with a couple of others that were built like a pair of brick shithouses.

"He's not a coward. If he doesn't want to enter why should he?" Harmony only realised that it was her who'd spoken when the blond boy and his friends looked around at her with a look of complete contempt.

"Of course he's a coward."

The boy looked her up and down for a few seconds before, before his face settled on a look of complete disgust; Harmony was suddenly reminded that she was covered in muck and probably had a really strong resemblance to medusa right now.

"Though at least he doesn't look like he's just been pulled out of Hagrids compost heap. Tell me little firstie, where's your uniform? I'll have to deduct a few dozen house points for that, and I think I might need to issue a detention of two for not knowing when to hold your tongue around your elders."

This set the two large boys snickering again. Harmony could feel her face heating, but wasn't sure if it was through anger or embarrassment at being compared to an eleven year old.

"Come on then little firstie I can't give to a detention without a name. So what is it." The boy said with a smirk.

"If you can't do anything without my name. Then I'd been even more of an idiot than you if I actually gave it to you, wouldn't I?" Harmony replied with a smirk of her own.

"Why you little-" The boys smug look had disappeared and his grey eyes were burning with anger but before he could do much Harmony was being pulled away from the crowd, by a set of familiar hands.

"Come on Harmony, Mcgonagall wants us."

Harmony knew almost instantly that the boy recognised Hermione, because he looked like he'd seen a ghost. The whispers started in earnest as the two girls walked towards the waiting Headmistress, she could hear her friends name being banded around in turns and she didn't need to see the tension in her friends shoulders to know that Hermione could hear them to.

_"What the hell-"_

_"Granger."_

_"Know it all-"_

_"Mudblood-"_

_"__Granger-"_

_"__Granger-"_

She reached down to grip her friends hand, hoping to give her some comfort in the face all these people who apparently hadn't a kind word to say about her best friend.

Hermione gripped back, even as she ducked her head allowing her hair to fall around her face obstructing it from the view of the buzzing mob.

She might have been able to channel her inner lion when dealing with individuals, but being confronted with a crowd made her walls crumble around her and she simply wanted to hide away from the nasty whispers, the same whispers that had haunted her during her last months at Hogwarts.

Harmony glared at the assembled crowd, but with no single person to focus on, it held none of the bite it needed to get them to shut up.

Harmony saw the exact moment that James noticed her because his face shut down as if he wished he could look right through her.

Apparently not being drunk meant he was once more denying her existence entirely.

The walk seemed to last a life time, but in reality probably took scant seconds. When they were both in front of the headmistress, she gave them both a look that Harmony couldn't distinguish before she moved off to the side.

Leaving them stood in front of the goblet.

The whispers had tapered off, and the feel of hundreds of eyes watching them made Harmony feel incredibly uneasy.

Her friend was still hiding herself in her hair and Harmony gripped her hand all the harder.

"In a moment Miss Potter, you and Miss Granger will walk forwards. If you are lying to me you will be able to walk up to the Goblet without incident. If on the other hand you are telling me the truth you will be ejected from its space."

"What do you mean by ejected?" Enquired Harmony, feeling very aware of who well her voice carried despite the amount of people crammed in to the smallish space.

"Nothing to worry about, Miss Potter I assure you. Now which one of you wishes to go first."

"I will." Hermione's voice was so small Harmony barely heard her.

"Mione' I can-"

"No I want to get this over with. Please Harm." The pleading in her friends voice was hard to miss and she could see that Hermione wanted the attention off her as quickly as possible.

"Okay."

Hermione released her hand. Taking a deep breath the girl straighten up and brushed the hair out of her face, before walking forwards in sure even steps.

Trying not to show her unease in front of the hostile crowd

A flash of beige and black in the corner of Harmony's eye made her look away from her nervous friend and she saw that Remus and the dark haired professor had arrived at the edge of the crowd along with what looked like most of the great hall.

A flare of bright white light made Harmony turn her attention back to the goblet; she watched as Hermione was pushed away from the artefact, like she was caught in a strong gust of wind.

Harmony just managed to catch her before she fell on her arse, though the weight strained her increasingly painful shoulder.

The whispers were starting again, some louder than others. But Harmony paid them no mind.

"You okay?" Hermione gave her a queasy smile as she stood up, straitening her skirt.

"Yeah, it's not something I want to repeat though."

Harmony gave her a tight smile in turn, but was stopped from saying anything when the headmistress interrupted.

"Very well. Miss Granger it would appear that you at least are telling the truth. Miss Potter if you would please step forwards so that we can call this charade to an end."

The whispers died a sudden death and Harmony could feel everyone's eyes boring into her skin.

Harmony placed the book that she was still holding on the floor near her feet; she felt Hermione give a brief squeeze of her fingers just before she stepped forwards.

If she hadn't been wearing trainers she was sure her shoes would've echoed in the silence like they did in those muggle horror films, but nothing but the barest whisper of movement was heard as she walked towards the Goblet.

Once she was within a few feet of the artefact she felt the same wash of magic that she'd felt when she'd entered her name.

But this time, instead of the magic deeming her suitable and then dissipating, it was replaced with an older, much more powerful magic.

A magic that was not all together pleased with her presence.

The magic flared bright white and she felt it pushing at her, expelling her from within confines of the Goblet's boundaries.

She never heard the screams, or felt the power backlash that the gawkers did.

All she was aware of was the ceiling flying passed and the peculiar feeling of being propelled backwards through the air.

Until she hit something.

Hard.

Noise came back and she finally heard the screaming and the scrambling feet.

But the blackness dragged her down even as familiar hands tried to rouse her, the last thing she heard before the darkness won was Hermione's desperate voice.

"Harmony!"

**Soo...did you know it's actually cheaper to rent a cave with an electric fence and a security door, than keep paying out for the riot gear.**

***Quickly pulls door closed* **

**It also allows me to speak to you in relative safety even if you are baying for my blood. ;-)**

**So before I get comments about McGonagall being OC or too harsh, I want you to bare in mind a few things that are currently shaping her interactions with Harmony and by extension Hermione. **

**Number 1) James and Maxime are people that McGonagall knows well and trusts, and these two have been whispering some less than nice things about Harmony's delinquent personality in Minerva's ears since Harmony arrived at the school. **

**You also have to bare in mind how much worse some of the accusations would seem as they are coming from the girls own father. **

**Number 2) No one likes to be made a fool of, whether it's deserving or not. And people tend to lash out in uncharacteristic ways when their pride has been wounded. **

**Number 3) She has been headmistress for close to a decade by this stage, so she has a bit of Dumbledore's, if I don't see it or acknowledge it, it will sort itself out type attitude. She isn't seeing James for the bully he is, the same as she didn't really see it when he was a teenager.**

**I promise this will change and she will become more like the Mini we know and love. **

**She will come understand she has become lax in her overseeing of the teachers attitudes to the students. And her students attitudes to the other students. **

**She will also realise Harmony is not quite the girl Maxime and James have painted her to be and eventually understand that James is not the man she thought he was. **

**I hope this explanation helps you understand the way I've written McGonagall. **

**See y'all next week, X pink (^^)**


	10. Aftermath

**New week, New chapter **

**Enjoy!**

"-Want her gone."

Awareness trickled back to Harmony slowly, it was like someone was re-feeding her consciousness into her head through a muggle drip.

It appeared her eyelids had been told not to open at her command and her mouth seemed to be under similar orders.

Conversely her hearing was pin sharp, and the first thing to greet her at the edge of consciousness was the sound of people arguing.

She wanted to cover her ears to block out the noise, but her limbs, just like the rest of her, refused to move when she bade them too.

"-essor Potter, for the last time. The girl has entered the tournament; there is not a single thing anyone can do to remove her from this school. I will issue her with a detention for the damage she had done to your face but that is the scope of my abilities."

That sounded like a teacher.

Where the hell was she?

She'd been with Hermione hadn't she?

What had they been doing?

Harmony tried to assess her surroundings but without her eyes or the ability to move it wasn't the easiest of tasks.

From what she could tell she was laying flat, and her head appeared to be on some sort of pillow, so she was likely on a bed.

The fabric under her fingers was heavily starched, and the strong scent of disinfectant charms was thick in her nostrils.

Was she in a hospital?

Why would she be in a hospital? Had she had another quidditch accident?

No that didn't sound right.

Merlin her brain felt like sludge, why couldn't she remember anything?

"-Suggest you leave her in Poppy's able care and try and calm yourself."

That was the teacher again.

Wasn't she the headmistress?

No that couldn't be right, her headmistress was definitely French, not Scottish.

"I know you're unhappy about this Professor Potter-"

Professor Potter?

"-not exactly enthused about keeping the girl here myself. But there really is nothing that can be done. Now I really must get back to my office. The board needs to be informed about this incident before one of the students lets to much slip."

She heard footsteps heading towards her, but they passed by without stopping.

"She's my fucking daughter. If I say I want her gone that should be good enough."

Daughter?

What the fuck was the man who no longer deserved the name father doing here!

A door banged shut, apparently the Scottish woman hadn't seen fit to answer him.

"Yes James, she's your daughter. I don't know if anyone's told you recently, but being your daughter does not make her some sort of unwanted parcel you can simply send back through the post whenever the fancy takes you. Besides, Minerva is right. If what this book is saying is true then no one will be removing her from Hogwarts before the tournament ends."

Remus? Tournament? Hogwarts?

Morgana her head.

No wait... that's right she was at Hogwarts for the Triwizard Tournament.

But why was she like this?

Had she tried her experimental sleeping draught again?

Circe help her if she had, 'Mione was going to kill her.

"-has to be a way to get her out of here. I can't live the rest of the year in fear of seeing her fucking face around every corner. I'll go mad."

"So quit." Remus's voice was dry as bone and the rustle of pages being turned told Harmony that he really wasn't paying much attention to James theatrics.

"You find this really fucking funny don't you Remus."

A clang echoed as something was kicked, and someone started to pace. Harmony was pretty sure it was James but she couldn't tell from the sound of the footsteps alone.

"Let me ask you something Remus. How would you fucking feel if you had to spend the rest of the year being confronted with some sort of cheap copy of Sirius, knowing full well that if he hadn't died to save that worthless copy. Your actual husband would be walking around the next corner instead of a person who's existence you can do nothing but resent."

It was odd the words seared through her like molten lead, and yet she felt strangely detached from them at the same time, it was almost like she was hearing them inside a dream.

A book snapped shut and an old chair groaned as someone shifted.

"No James, I don't find anything about the fact that you can happily turn your back on your own flesh and blood the least bit funny."

Remus sounded so tired. Had she done that?

"She's unconscious with a severe concussion and all your bothered about is whether or not you can get her out of the school before she wakes up."

Concussion?

Yes, she'd hit something… because she was flying backwards?

So it was quiddit- no it couldn't have been. She could remember seeing a ceiling and she knew you weren't allowed to play quidditch indoors.

Merlin knew she'd tried often enough, only to be thwarted by Maxime at the last moment.

"-et me tell you something James, if Sirius had died to protect my fucking daughter, I wouldn't care if she was a carbon copy right down to the moustache. I would simply be fucking thankful I had something so precious to remember him by. What I wouldn't do, is go out of my way to forget her so that I could continue to bask in memories of what once was."

The pacing stopped and when James spoke again his voice was lower, more menacing.

"You just don't get it do you Remus." The creak of springs sounded again, like someone was moving around in their seat.

"My Lily bud died for that girl, and what do I get in return. Something that's like Lily, but not Lily. What's the fucking use of that! If the fates were only going to give me an inferior copy, I'd much rather they'd just took Harmony instead."

Inferior copy?

Yes...she'd slapped him for calling her that, they'd tried to send her away. But they hadn't been able to and they'd gotten angry.

Why hadn't they been able to?

"-armony is replaceable, we could've had more children if Lily had survived. But she didn't, and now all I've got is the thing that looks just enough like her mother to screw with my fucking head."

Harmony felt sick, did he truly think her life was worth so little?

"That's a disgusting thing to say." Remus sounded repulsed by his one time friend.

"Are you even listening to yourself for Merlin's sake! You're wishing your own daughter dead. What type of fucking parent does that. You loved her so much once, I saw the way your eyes used to light up at the sight of her. Even after Lily had died. What changed?"

"She changed!" Shouted James, the words piercing Harmony's brain like an arrow through a target.

"One day I looked at her and my golden girl, the one I would've given my life for, wasn't there any more. And this Lily golem was stuck in her place. What the hell was I expected to do with that."

"Love her!" Remus roared, his own words echoing incriminatingly in the face of James' callousness.

"For fucks sake man. She is your bloody daughter, the last thing you have of Lily's. She's not some fucking broom you can put back in the shed because you got a splinter in your fucking backside. You have put that girl through hell and back. She was a child and you left her! And why did you leave her, apparently, because she was no longer the right pissing model."

The springs creaked again, even as Remus's voice lowered slightly.

"I don't even know what the problem is. So she looks a little like her mother, big deal. It shouldn't matter to you what she fucking looks like, Harmony is a wonderful person in her own right. If you'd spent some of the last seven years acting like her pissing father you'd know that."

"I have acted like her-"

"No you haven't!" Remus spat, his voice rising once more.

Harmony couldn't remember ever hearing him this angry.

Not that that counted for much at the moment since she was having problems remembering what she'd had for breakfast, let alone her brief childhood moments of Remus time.

"-Shoved her off to the continent because you decided that seeing her at Hogwarts was to much for you delicate sensibilities. And if that wasn't bad enough, the first time you set eyes on her in Godric knows how long, you decide you're perfectly within your rights to literally drag her from the school. If you'd just left her alone she might not be risking her life to stay in this bloody place!"

Harmony wanted to frown but the muscles in her face still weren't responding.

Risking her life?..why was she... Oh, the Geasan, that's right they'd found a way for her to stay at Hogwarts should James or Maxime try and make her leave.

Was that why she couldn't move, she'd broken the contract and it'd taken its pound of flesh?

No that wouldn't account for the backwards flying... or the concussion come to think if it.

"-attacked me first!"

"Bullshit! Hermione told me exactly what Harmony said you'd done, frankly I think you deserved more than a fucking slap around the face. I've seen the fucking bruising on her upper arm James! Minerva might be willing to believe the sob story that you've spun for her, but I know better."

James scoffed "You make it sound like I'm some sort of abuser, or like I've abandoned her to the elements."

The pacing started again.

"I've paid her school fees, made sure she had money for anything she might desire. I even made sure she was enrolled in one of the best school outside of Hogwarts. How does that make me anything other than a caring parent."

Harmony wanted to rail at the man, money wasn't everything.

She couldn't have cared less if she was penniless and living in a cupboard just as long as she'd still had her parents.

"It makes you a fucking coward." Growled Remus.

"I am not a coward." James stated in a low voice.

"Money isn't everything James."

Harmony would've grinned if she could, good old Remus still managing to know what she wanted to say even when she was out cold.

"-already lost one parent because of a mad man, and then you voluntarily removed another. You were her world! She idealised you and you left her; for what! Something as stupid as her hair colour, and the fact that her eyes might be just a little bit like Lily's. Your excuses are superficial at best."

Harmony heard the chair creek again, and she could almost see him running his hands through his hair.

"I would've took her in myself if the damn ministry wouldn't have locked me up and thrown away the key. You weren't there James. The amount of times I stopped by that house once I'd finished with work, only to find her curled up on the settee around your damn photo, fast asleep and covered in dried tears."

Harmony didn't know that, she'd always thought it was Mary who'd put her to bed on those nights she'd been able to do nothing but cry.

Clearly it hadn't been the elf, it'd been Remus all along

"-broke my heart knowing there was nothing I could do to help. I couldn't be the parent she needed and I will forever regret that. But you could've been. If you'd just bucked up your ideas and seen a mind healer or confided in one of us what the problem was before it drove you away. We could've helped. Found someone to look after her in your stead while you healed. God knows Sirius spent long enough trying to get you to see sense once we found out what you'd done."

Remus's sounded so hollow she desperately wanted to hug him, but she felt so sick with emotion she wasn't sure she could've done even if she could move.

"But Instead of asking for help you left her in the middle of the night, with a house elf and a few portraits. I only realised what had happened when I arrived at the Pottery for my post moon visit, and found her sat at the kitchen table; staring into space like some sort of Inferi. Two sodding weeks Harmony was left thinking she'd been completely abandoned, and by the time Sirius got you to sign over partial custody she'd already been shipped off the continent. A whole year she was left without a guardian, I did what I could but with the ministry monitoring my movements they'd have noticed if I'd stayed there too long, and you wouldn't sign the papers to let me! Lily would be ashamed of what you've done to that girl."

"You're right about one thing Lily would be ashamed, but it wouldn't be of me. She would be disgusted to find out what the baby she sacrificed herself for had become."

Footsteps came closer, a clang and a jolt told her James had kicked the bed she was laying on.

"What the fuck do you think you're doin-"

"My sweet Lily bud died so that this delinquent piece of trash could live. Every week I get something telling me about one infarction or another. She isn't noble or brave or smart, all things the world lost with Lily's death and didn't get back with her survival"

That really hurt, she didn't truly care about James' opinion but those words still stung terribly.

"You're wrong James."

Remus sounded like he was ready for the conversation to end.

He wasn't the only one.

The air shifted.

Someone was walking towards her.

She was becoming more self aware and her brain was feeling less muddled, but she still couldn't move. Meaning she didn't have to mask her surprise when she felt a set of fingers gently brushing her hair off her forehead.

The callouses and the rich scent of a rain drenched forest let her know it was Remus.

"Harmony is all that Lily was and more besides. You call her a delinquent, but she is no more one that you ever would've claimed to be. Have you ever thought that she does what she does because she wanted you to acknowledge her existence again? The simple fact is she's acted like it so long, she simply doesn't know how to be anyone else, and frankly I wouldn't want her to be. She's not a bully like the Marauders were, she defends those that are belittled and down trodden, it's how she found Hermione."

Actually... where was Hermione she would've thought she'd be here. Had she been hurt too?

"-onestly from what I can tell pretty much everything she does these days is to wind up Madame Maxime. Which is hardly surprising with the way that woman acts towards her. As for not being smart, you are sorely mistaken. Harmony is one of the smartest people I've ever met and an incredibly studious person when the right subject catches her eye. Not that you would know that of course since I imagine the only thing you know about Harmony's academic achievements will have come from that woman, and Maxime will never have a good word to say about her."

"You make her sound so fucking virtuous. Yet she clearly came here with the intention of causing trouble. If she hadn't she wouldn't have had that book to shove in Minerva's face at the first sign of being sent back." James hissed, his voice nearer than Harmony had expected it to be.

Remus's hand paused, "I imagine she was aware of how much of a prick you were going to be once she arrived, she probably came across the information during a research binge and saw the information as too good an opportunity to over look. I honestly don't know if she has entered the tournament for the tournaments sake or if she has simply seen the Geasan as a means to an end."

His thumb started to lightly stoke over her eyebrows.

"Make no mistake I feel like I could ring her neck right now. Whatever her reasons for entering the tournament it was still a foolish thing to do, and I will let her know that once she wakes up...but what's done is done. I cannot send her away to safety, but neither can you send her away for your own selfish ends. So I suggest you either ignore her existence as you have for the past seven years. Or you put on your big boys pants; start acting like the fucking adult you apparently are and actually get to know the daughter you abandoned."

Angrily retreating footsteps and a heavy door banging shut was the only answer Remus got to his ultimatum.

The hand on her forehead started to brush through her long hair; Harmony wished she could move, she had so many things to ask.

Just as she permitted herself to drift, Remus started to speak again. "What am I going to do with you sweetheart. No wonder I'm going grey before my time."

As the fingers gently carded through her unruly curls she felt the darkness pulling her in, embracing her like an old friend.

"Sirius always jokes it's the wolf, but the greys only appeared when James finally gave us guardianship. I've noticed more than a few on Sirius's head-… all those summers stuck in St Mungo's emergency-… always getting injured-… now you've-… tournament-… what were you think-..."

By the time Remus started to reprimand her she was to far into the darkness to claw her way back out again, but just before it claimed her fully she had the pleasant thought that while Remus was as pissed as predicated about her entering the tournament, at least he still loved her.

¥§¥

Harmony came too for a second time, instantly aware of the difference's to the first.

The space was devoid of shouting, all there was was the even breathing of someone close at hand and the softness of a book being read.

Her brain, thankfully, no longer felt like it was filled to the brim with mud; she could remember everything up to the point of her arriving wherever she was laying.

And the final thing she noticed? Her body was apparently happy to respond to her commands again.

Her eye's flew open, only for them to abruptly squeeze shut as the lights in the room tried to burn through the back of her skull.

Her moan of pain was enough to draw the attention of the person reading.

The book was closed and placed gently on a nearby surface.

"Harmony?" Her name was spoken low and a little questioningly but she'd know that voice any where.

"Mione?" Harmony blinked open her eyes once more, mindful of the pain she'd felt the first time.

A fuzzy vision of her friend came into view, through her half open eyes.

Someone had removed her contacts.

Not that it mattered, she would've had to have been completely blind not to have noticed the relieved smile on Hermione's face.

"Hello."

"Where's Remus?" She was sure he'd been here, or had the argument been a figment of her imagination.

"He was forced to go back to class. He left me to watch over you for a while."

"Oh." There wasn't really much she could say to that, was there.

Hermione pushed herself out of her seat, stretching out her back to work out the kinks.

"Where are you going?" She'd only just woken up, surely she wasn't about to leave her.

"I need to get Madame Pomfrey. She'll have my head if she finds out you're awake and I didn't immediately tell her."

"Okay." Hermione squeezed her fingers and she watched her friends fuzzy back make it's way towards the door at the end of the room.

At least her muddled brain had been right about one thing, she was in a hospital. Though this was clearly the school and not St Mungo's.

Which was good, it meant she wasn't to bad.

Hopefully.

Placing both her palms flat on the bed Harmony pushed herself upright, the headrush was expected but thankfully it subsided quickly. With a huff she slumped against the metal headboard and attempted to take stock of herself.

Her head felt like someone had cracked a muggle fridge over it recently, her shoulder was stinging; though at least the searing burn seemed to have abated, and the rest of her was aching like an absolute bugger.

Overall not the best she'd ever felt but certainly not the worst either.

She could live with that.

Someone, likely Hermione, had thought to bring her glasses to the hospital wing for her.

Picking them up off the cabinet, she slid them onto her face and contemplated what to do next.

She was just attempting to get out of bed, when a stern voice rang out through the empty ward.

"Miss Potter. Put one foot on that floor and I shall be forced to tie you to that bed."

Startled, Harmony looked up to find a tall grey haired witch in a matrons uniform heading straight for her, her eyes narrowed in reprimand.

"I was just-"

"You were not just anything young lady. You've been unconscious with a severe concussion for the past three hours. You will not be moving from that bed until I can determine that you are fit to do so."

"But I feel-" Harmony tried again but was cut off by her friend.

"Harm, just let her do her job. Please?"

Harmony huffed but dutifully pulled her legs back up on to the bed, though she refused to lay back down again.

She wasn't sick.

The matron hummed in approval, "Well done Miss Granger. I could do with you here more often if you can get patients to back down that quickly."

"I think Harmony is a special case Madame Pomfrey. I doubt it would work on anyone else."

"Perhaps. Now my dear lets take a look at you shall we. Quite the nasty bump you took after all."

The matron pulled her wand, and within moments complex diagnostic spells began to unspool from it's tip.

Harmony grimaced as she felt the far too familiar tingle of a diagnostic spell sweeping over every part of her that it deemed to be of interest.

She noted that the tingle was strongest around the back of her head and over her shoulder; she had to resist the urge to scratch.

It felt like ants crawling over her skin.

The tingling ended and the matron pursed her lips as she perused the results.

"Well Miss Potter, all things considered you are in remarkably good health. The Concusio potion seems to have healed you right up. Though I would advise you to avoid strong lights and small text for the next twenty fours hours. The burn on your shoulder seems to be the worst of your problems at the moment."

The woman flicked her wand and the fabric screens at the side of the bed began to close around them.

"I'd like to just take a quick look if you don't mind. Could you wait outside for a few minutes Miss Granger. I promise you may come back once the examination is over."

"Of course Madam Pomfrey. I'll be just outside if you need me Harm."

Harmony watched her friends curly head disappear around the screens, before turning her attention on the waiting matron.

"If you'd just like to pop your top off Miss Potter, and I'll take a look."

Harmony felt her cheeks burn, but refused to let embarrassment win.

Keeping her attention on the buttons, she got the top undone and gingerly shrugged the garment down her arms. Thankfully her sports bra was still intact so she wasn't being forced to bare all for this stranger.

With the top gone, the matron leaned over her and began to gently unpick the bandage that had been placed over her burnt shoulder.

The cool infirmary air collided with barely healed nerve endings, making the injury hum with displeasure.

Harmony tried her best to block out the uncomfortable sensation, but there was little she could truly do other than hope the matrons examination was swift.

"Hmm. The skin looks markedly improved since the application of the Mallenio. You are a very lucky girl Miss Potter, if that burn had been allowed to fester without treatment for much longer it would have left a terrible scar."

The matron fixed the bandage back in place and moved away to tidy up her tray of supplies.

"You can put your top back on now Miss Potter." Harmony knew her face was definitely a healthy shade of pink, but she really couldn't help it.

"Though how you got hit with a scorching hex in all this mess is beyond me. I've never had to treat a student for such a severe curse burn before. It's lucky Professor Snape was able to recommend a salve from his stores. I would've been forced to fire call St Mungo's otherwise. Which given the severity of the hex would have caused more than a few raised eyebrows I can tell you."

Noticing that her patient was once more dressed, the woman flicked her wand at the screens and they dutifully stacked themselves down the side of the bed again.

"So Miss Potter. We'll give that shoulder a little longer and I shall get the elves to bring you up something light to eat in the meantime, since you've most certainly missed lunch. Hopefully I should be able to get you on your way before the feast later tonight."

"Thank you Madam Pomfrey." Said Hermione as she stepped back towards the bed.

"Yes, thank you." Harmony said a little absently, something was bugging her and she wasn't talking about the recently healed concussion either.

"Hmm, just doing my job Miss Potter. Let us hope this isn't the start of a more frequent acquaintance. Though your medical records suggest that is likely a rather hopeless wish."

With that the matron bustled off towards her office.

No sooner had the woman closed her door than a small platter of sandwiches appeared on the table at the end of Harmony's bed.

Hermione moved to grab them even as Harmony's mind whirled around a question.

How had Professor Snape had that salve in his stores?

Harmony was forced to make Mallenio on a rather regular basis and she knew for a fact it didn't last anymore than 48 hours at a stretch once brewed and potted.

The raw snail slime in the salve made it particularly good for deep curse burns, but it also made it spoil hellishly quick in comparison to most basic burn salves. So how had the professor had in sitting around in his stores?

She could understand it if it was something that he brewed on a semi regular basis, but the matron had said herself that she'd never seen a burn of this type before so it was unlikely to be a salve he was continually making as a matter of course.

The man had to have made it recently, he had to have made it just for her.

Which wouldn't be out of the question if the matron had asked for it…but he'd been the one to recommend it to the woman, not the other way round and the salve itself took a full half hour to brew as well as another hour or more cool.

The cooling process was critical it couldn't be rushed, if you did it too quickly the slime crystallised making the salve useless.

All this added up to one thing, the professor had to have been in the process of making the salve long before Pomfrey had called on his services.

The question was why?

Harmony was pulled out of her winding thoughts by her friend waving a ham sandwich under her nose, which she promptly plucked from her friends fingers and started to chew on like a rabid dog.

Hermione rolled her eyes, taking a delicate bite of her own.

"Honestly, the way you eat sometimes I wonder if you've ever been fed."

"You know me 'Mione. I see food and I eat it. Besides, s'not like either of us got to have lunch."

Harmony grabbed another sandwich from the platter that Hermione had placed over her knees and leaned further back into her pillows.

"We weren't the only ones. After what happened in the entrance hall, nobody seemed to be to bothered about eating, everyone was more concerned with gossip."

Hermione was picking at her sandwich, making Harmony wonder what she'd missed.

"Mione? Did something happen?" Hermione raised an amused eyebrow and Harmony rolled her eyes. "Besides the obvious I mean."

"I really should ignore it, they're nothing but gossiping idiots after all… but you should've heard them Harmony. The way they're talking about the both of us. The entire school in convinced that the goblets rejected us for being unworthy. I can see it now, by the time we get to the feast every single student will have twisted the story so far out of hand that both of us will have been rejected by the goblet, because we're both secretly squibs or some such rot and are parents are disgraced muggle borns who live in the local caves and come out to dance under the moon once a month while sacrificing a few unicorns for good measure"

"Been storing that up long?"

Hermione grimaced and threw her suddenly mangled sandwich down on the platter.

"More or less since the goblet sent you flying. God I hate this school. Why is everyone so bloody judgmental, Mcgonagall could stop the rumours with a single word, but will she? No of course she won't. She feels we've made a spectacle of her and now she'll be wanting to make sure we suffer for it."

Hermione ran a frustrated hand down her face; slumping back in her chair and nearly upending the platter of sandwiches in the process.

"I'd really hoped this school might've gotten better since I left, but you know I think it's actually gotten worse? Not a single one of the idiots would help me get you off the ground after you flew into that pillar, they simply scrambled away like we had the plague. I had to wait for Remus to make his way through the throngs of brainless twits before I could get you off the floor. Not that I helped much in the end. Remus simply picked you up and carried you here."

Harmony nodded. "I wondered what he'd been doing here. I heard him and James arguing."

That wasn't the only thing she was wondering about either, she'd have thought she'd feel rather raw after the emotional pummelling that James had subjected her unconscious form to. But strangely other than the pain from her injuries she was feeling pretty much normal, it was as if James's callous, hurtful words had never been uttered.

Perhaps her subconscious had worked through the turmoil while she was out of it.

Or perhaps it was storing it up so that she was hit with an emotional anvil at a later time.

Whichever it was for the moment she was content to not poke at the dormant feelings.

"-could ring his ruddy neck. He followed us all the way up here you know? At first I thought he might actually be showing some sort of parental feeling."

Harmony snorted, and Hermione gave her a half grin, acknowledging how silly that sounded.

"Yes I know, stupid thing to think really, turned out the only reason he followed was so that he could have it out with Mcgonagall. He wanted to know why we were taking you up to the hospital wing instead of sending you straight back to France. Apparently the fact that you were unconscious didn't matter. He wasn't at all pleased when Mcgonagall said you couldn't leave. He went nuts. I was talking to Remus when he suddenly started raving, it's a good job Madam Pomfrey had gone to talk to Professor Snape, she would've thrown us all out otherwise. Remus made me leave before James turned his temper on me. Said you wouldn't appreciate me ending up in the bed next to you. So I went to the library for a bit, it's where I heard the stupid rumours starting to spread."

"So no one knows I'm James' daughter then?" Asked Harmony curiously.

"No the school gossips are quite convinced we've both crawled out of a hole somewhere."

Hermione didn't need to tell her what she thought of the students intelligence, the expression on her friends face said more than enough.

"Well, we'll just have to show them otherwise. Won't we."

"Easier said than done with this lot I'm afraid. You know I- oh!"

Harmony looked up from her perusal of the sandwich platter.

"What?"

Instead of answering Hermione reached over and tugged a few strands of hair over Harmony's shoulder.

Glancing at it curiously Harmony realised what her friend had seen.

The colour charm was finally wearing off, the barest hint of her silver tips could be seen again.

She stroked the tips in bemused wonder. "I thought the charm wasn't supposed to start degrading till tomorrow afternoon."

Hermione shrugged. "It was. Maybe the Goblets magic damaged it."

Running her fingers through the tips of her hair, Harmony gave a barely perceptible nod of agreement before releasing the strands and gracing her friend with a bright smile.

"Well it's earlier than we wanted, but given that they already know they can't remove us it's hardly going to make a difference now. I just get to go back to being me a little sooner."

Hermione smiled back. "Not a moment to soon either. I really don't care what colour you hair is, but it will be nice to have my bright headed friend back. I just can't get over how normal you look like this."

"Hey!" Exclaimed Harmony as she threw an uneaten crust at her friend.

Hermione batted it away with ease. "I didn't mean it like that. You're an extraordinary person, it doesn't feel right to have you blending in with the crowd."

Harmony got a little misty eyed at that. "Thanks. But you're just as extraordinary, you shouldn't be going unnoticed either."

Hermione scoffed. "Trust me after what Mcgonagall forced us to do. I won't be going unnoticed...neither will you for that matter hair or not."

"Yeah but they won't be noticing us for the right reasons."

Harmony paused, her friend might not appreciate the plan that was quickly forming in her head, but it was worth a shot.

"I don't suppose you'd fancy joining me for being noticed for all the wrong ones. Would you?"

Hermione leant forwards looking at her friends curiously.

"What do you mean?"

"Well this schools going to try and tear shreds off you if it can. The whispering while we were In front of the goblet was proof of that. So we give them something to talk about that you can control, if you can control it you can take power from it. Perception can be a powerful thing if wielded right. Perhaps we just need to change theirs a little."

"By doing what?"

"Well I think if we..."

Harmony explained what she had in mind.

At first her friend looked downright scandalised and then pensive, but finally after much deliberating Hermione got a conspiratorial smile one her face that matched her own and she knew her friend had been won over.

"I'm still not sure if it's going to empower me the way you think it will, but I suppose if they're going to whisper come what may I might as well give them a real reason."

Leaning forwards Harmony pulled Hermione into a tight hug. "I knew I could bring you over to the dark side one day."

"It's only took five years." Came Hermione's muffled, but sarcastic reply.

Harmony snorted. "Don't knock it, you're one hard nut to crack Miss Granger."

The sound of a door being opened made Harmony pull away from her friend, she could see the matron bustling back towards her bed, with an armful of clothes.

"Right Miss Potter, we'll take another look at that shoulder now. All being well I should be able to send you on your way."

Once she was near she handed the stack of clothes to Hermione.

"Miss Granger, if you could look through those for something to fit your friend it would be much appreciated."

Hermione nodded and took the stack over to an adjacent bed, even as the screens wound their way around a confused Harmony.

"Why does she need to do that." She began undoing her top without prompting, her curiosity overriding most of her embarrassment.

"I was under the impression you would not want to be walking back to your carriage in nothing but a pair of pyjamas. Clearly I was wrong." Stated Madam Pomfrey as she gently peeled back the bandage.

"I don't." Harmony rolled her eyes, though thankfully it went unnoticed by the medi-witch. "But where are the clothes I arrived in?"

"You're leggings are clean and in the pile I just gave to Miss Granger. However your top had caught in the burn and I had no choice but to cut it away in pieces. It was beyond repair I'm afraid." The matron said as she carefully wiped the excess salve from her shoulder.

Harmony clicked her tongue and heaved out a petulant sigh.

That had been her favourite vest.

"No need for that Miss Potter. I came to the conclusion you would prefer a well healed shoulder than keeping a cheap muggle vest. Was I wrong?"

The matrons eyes bore into her and Harmony looked down shame faced.

"No, it's just my favourite vest is all."

"We all have our favoured items of clothing Miss Potter, but nothing lasts forever." The woman said practically. "Now your shoulder looks to be in perfect condition. It will be tender for few hours but if it starts to burn or blister again you must come back to me as quickly as possible. Understood?"

"Yes Madam Pomfrey." The matron nodded in approval.

"Good, I'll leave you to get dressed. Leave your pyjamas on the bed, the elves will deal with them. There's no need to inform me when you're ready to go, just make sure you shut the door when you do. We get terrible draughts in here otherwise."

With that the woman picked up her supplies and walked back to her office.

Hermione came back around the screen a few seconds later, a mound of black cloth in her arms.

"I have your leggings, a shirt and school robe. They were the smallest in the pile, but I still think they might be to big."

Pulling the clothing on it wasn't difficult to see what Hermione had meant. The shirt made her look like she was playing dress up in her parents clothes, and the school robe was so baggy the shoulders were resting closer to her elbows than her neck.

Frankly she looked like an urchin, but beggars couldn't be choosers and she had to concede they were better to be walking through the school in than a borrowed set of hospital pyjamas.

Harmony slipped on her trainers as Hermione handed her, her wand.

"Thank you. Come on then let's blow this pop stand."

She could feel Hermione's eyes judging her. Hermione hated it when she used that particular phrase, meaning she used it whenever she could get away with it.

"You're not playing a part in a fantasy film Harm."

Harmony turned towards her friend with a smile that was all teeth. "I ain't a Slytherin either, but it won't stop me from wearing their colours."

Hermione mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like, could've fooled me. But she was to far In front of her friend to truly hear her.

Hermione caught up with her in the corridor and the raced away from the hospital wing.

They had a lot to do and very little time to do it.

Hogwarts would not be dismissing either of them with certifiable rumours for much longer.

They would make sure the school had something much better to gossip about.

**Well I hope everyone enjoyed seeing that and look no cliffies (^^)**

**Couple of things you lovelies might find interesting. **

**The partial guardianship I refer to in this chapter, is just that partial. **

**Remus and Sirius have legal right over Harmony in medical matters and in the eyes of the MoM they have the right to have her live with them. **

**They do not have the right, to access her accounts, remove her from school or talk to her teachers.**

**Essentially James had permitted them to become legal nannies, for lack of a better word, but James still has the final say so about where she can live and where she goes to school. **

**Of course this partial guardianship no longer applies at all since Harmony is over 17 but for the summers holidays ect that she wasn't at Beauxbatons this is the state of affairs that ruled, this guardianship was not signed over until roughly six months after Harmony had been initially sent to France at eleven. **

**Without the sign over, it would've been illegal for Remus and by extension his partner to take in the young Harmony. Remus tried to be there as much as the law permitted, while Sirius was off trying to talk some sense into James. But this still would've left Harmony a very lonely child during that year before Beauxbatons. **

**The Mallenio Salve mentioned in this chapter is a mismatch word **

**it combines Mallachd, which, according to google, means curse in Scottish Gaelic**

**and Lenio, which, according to google, means Soothe.**

**Another interesting thing about this salve, it may seem like the snail slime is simply for the witchy factor but Medieval doctors truly did recommend putting live snail slime on burns, scold and cuts. To reduce swelling and blistering**

**They weren't wrong to suggest it, according to recent medical research Snail mucus, is anti-septic, anti-inflammatory, antibiotic, and anti-viral. **

**It can also help ease pain and help with skin repair to high amount of collagen and Elastin**

**If you've all fallen asleep by now I apologise, I just thought it was really interesting. ;)**

**See y'all next week, Pink x (^^)**


	11. Chosen Three

**New week, New chapter. **

**Enjoy!**

The two girls made their way back to the carriage, more than aware of the looks and whispers that followed in their wake.

The carriage was blissfully empty when they reached it, and Harmony couldn't hold back her sigh of relief as they walked through the main seating area.

She had no idea if Fleur had yet heard about the incident with the goblet or not, and for the moment she was quite content not to know.

"I'm surprised Fleur wasn't here to pounce." Hermione said absently as she pulled their bedroom door closed; walking over to her bed.

"So am I, frankly it's the first thing that's gone right all day." Harmony looked at the door appraisingly.

"Do you think I should put some privacy wards up before we start?"

Hermione glanced up from where she was tugging a ratty t-shirt from her drawers.

"It might not be a bad idea. Can you imagine what would happen if Fleur _does_ come looking to for us? Or more likely if Maxime tries barge in. That is not a confrontation I want to be a part of."

Humming in agreement Harmony retrieved her wand from the overlarge robes pocket and set about warding the door.

It would take Maxime at least ten minutes to get through the complex weave of spells that Eddy had taught her.

Ample time to hide any evidence.

"You do know the confrontation is likely to happen sooner rather than later, right?"

Harmony asked as she applied the last spell to the glistening weave, which diligently sunk into the wood with a final tap of her wand.

"Though you are right. I'd really rather not get into that confrontation right now. Not least because my head still feels like someone dropped Sirius's troll leg umbrella stand on it."

"I thought he was getting rid of that thing." Queried Hermione as she unbuttoned her shirt.

"He's tried, even attempted to sell it to Borgin and Burke's apparently, but the thing just won't stay gone. He gets rid of it, only to find it in the front hall again when he gets back. Remus told him to stop trying."

"So what's he done with it." Her friends voice was slightly muffled as she pulled the old t-shirt over her head, but Harmony heard the question well enough.

"Beats me, probably shoved it in the loft with that chest of broken Sneakoscope's Remus refuses to get rid of."

Placing her wand on top of the drawers she began to shed her borrowed clothes, dropping the robe and shirt on the floor with little care.

In a moment of childishness she kicked both garments towards the seat under the window; doing a happy little jig when they both landed with a soft whump on the pile of previously discarded clothes.

"You're really juvenile sometimes, you know that." Stated Hermione as she took her own pile of clothes and placed them in the washing basket near the bathroom door.

"You wouldn't have me any other way." Her grin was full on cheeky and she noticed her friends lips twitch in response.

Harmony padded over to the pile of clothes, looking for the t-shirt she'd slept in, she found it scrunched up in a ball partially tucked down the edge of the seat.

It was holey, well loved and severely stained from her many adventures in hair dye.

Making it perfect for what they were about to undertake.

Slipping the thin garment over her head, she wandered back over to her bed and started tossing her pillows about, clearly looking for something.

"Have you seen Hyacinth." Harmony enquired after several minutes of futile searching.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "It shuffled off under your bed when we came through the door. Though I've no idea if it's still there now."

Dropping down onto all fours Harmony started moving her arm around under her bed, only to let out a yelp when something bit her fingers. Pulling them back with a curse, she moved her upper body under the edge of the frame, hoping to get a better view of her attacker.

"Come on Hyacinth, don't be like that. I only want to get some things out."

Hermione felt like banging her head against the wall, but refrained.

Making for the bathroom instead.

"I'm going get the shower warmed up, while you try and tame the savage beast."

"Yeah alright."

Hermione was just shutting the bathroom door when her friends second attempt at reasoning with the little monster reached her ears.

"Come on sweetie, don't you want to give mummy her hair produc-.. Ouch- Fucking bitch… That's it you-"

Closing the bathroom door with a sigh of resignation, Hermione wished she could say that this was an abnormal scene, but frankly this was pretty par for the course as far as living with Harmony was concerned.

Severus walked into the great hall, noting that it was nearly full to capacity despite the fact that the feast wasn't due to start quite yet.

The three heads had yet to arrive in the hall, but the two ministry officials and most of the other staff members were already seated.

Including, surprisingly, the werewolf. Severus had been quite certain the man would still be up in the hospital wing with the Potter girl.

An instant scowl covered his face as thoughts of the Potter girl raced through his brain, not so much for the girl herself. He was very much aware that the ruckus caused in the entrance hall wasn't truly her fault, no that was mostly down to Minerva. But that didn't mean he was happy about the gossip her little lunchtime flying session had caused.

While classes were normally bad on a Friday afternoon, the ones that day had been a right off.

His NEWT level students had been so distracted that he'd cut the class after fifteen minutes and shooed them off with a demand for a six foot long essay on the uses of dragons blood, by Monday morning.

Severus smirked, he was rather looking forward to failing the lot of them; not a single one had enquired whether he wanted the essay written about actual dragons blood or the sap of the Dracaena Cinnabari.

He would bet his silver knives that every one of the idiots wrote about the reptile blood instead of the red tree sap.

Walking along the back of the staff table, he caught various snippets of people making comparisons between which Hogwarts progeny might be made champion.

Apparently the staff were just as bad as the students, though why this should surprise him he had no idea.

Taking his seat he wanted nothing more than to let out a weary sigh, he felt incredibly tired after a day of dealing with the dunces the school insisted on calling students.

Unfortunately for him the chances of getting any rest before midnight were slim, he'd been given the unenviousness task of patrol that night.

Picking up a pitcher, he poured himself a glass of water and grimaced in displeasure as the clear liquid filled his goblet.

The elves had put out a fine selection of wine at the top table, in forbearance of the 'special occasion', and he couldn't touch a ruddy drop.

The board were very insistent that no patrolling teachers drink before their rounds, not an issue that was apparently afflicting Potter senior.

The man already appeared to be three sheets to the wind and the feast hadn't even started yet.

As if he didn't already have more than enough to make him irritable, it now appeared he was being presented with another thorn in his side in the form of a fidgeting werewolf.

He was about to snap at the man to stay bloody still when the main doors opened.

The three heads entered in regal procession, with Minerva on point as she carefully levitated the Goblet in front of her.

Every pair of student eyes swivelled to look at the artefact as the headmistress set it down in front of her seat at the staff table.

The students waited expectantly as the heads took their seats, but the expected speech never came and as soon as Minerva sat the tables around the hall started to fill with food as normal.

Reluctantly the students moved their attention from the staff table and soon the hall was filled with the noise of chattering dunderheads and clanking tableware.

It would've seemed like any normal night, if it wasn't for the fact that the students attention kept wandering towards the top table and the roughly hewn cup brimming with fire.

Severus reached for a steak, only for it to miss his plate by a mile when the fidgeting Lupin knocked his elbow.

Looking away from the perfectly cooked meat that was now resting next to his boots, and no doubt causing a lovely grease stain on the leather, he turned to the werewolf with a scowl.

"Have you forgotten to have your flea bath this week Lupin?" He kept his voice deliberately low lest he gain anyone else's attention.

"If you do not cease this idiotic fidgeting this instant, I will be forced to stick you to that chair."

Lupin grimaced looking contrite and reaching for his goblet so he had something to occupy his hands. "I apologise, I seem to be a little restless tonight."

Severus raised eyebrow. "Indeed. Then why are you here at all and not up in the hospital wing with the Potter girl."

Lupin's jaw twitched as he sent a glare down the table. "I was informed that my place was at the feast, apparently I will have ample time to see her once it is over. Never mind the fact that she was still bloody unconscious when I was forced back to class."

The last part was mumbled, though Severus heard it well enough and he had no need to see the direction of Lupins glare to realise who issued the order, it reeked of Minerva.

"Quite. Well perhaps next time she'll think twice before trying to hoodwink a magical artefact."

_Or maybe Minerva will finally listen when I tell her Potter senior is a lying dick._

Lupin set his goblet down with a thud, turning his glare away from the headmistress and onto to Severus instead.

"She wasn't given a bloody choice. Minerva forced her and Hermione to try and re-submit their names. She knew what the goblet would do to anyone it thought was cheating, granted the reaction it had to Harmony was much more severe than it should've been, but she still went ahead and did it instead of simply believing the girls when they said they'd entered themselves."

Severus pursed his lips, keeping hold of the fine threads of his temper.

He did not appreciate being spoken to in that tone, even if he could logically understand the werewolf's temper was not truly directed at him.

"Do you honestly believe that Minerva would force the issue like that, if the girl was not trying to deceive her?"

Even as he asked the question he knew full well she would force the issue, he wasn't wholly sure what had made Minerva to test the girls, she'd refused to say, but he was positive it had something to do with saint Potter and the apparently vicious attack his daughter had committed against his person.

She believed in Potter senior plain and simple. No matter what anyone said otherwise.

But he wanted the werewolf's opinion, would he defend the woman and her actions when push came to shove? Or defend the girl he'd carried up to the hospital wing; looking like his world was crumbling around his ankles.

For his own part he'd long since given up trying to get her to see reason where Potter was concerned, the man was a bias bully, and she was so blinded by her faith in him that even the most atrocious atrocities went unpunished if Potter said they hadn't happened.

Minerva simply thought all the students were whingeing little liars and the staff were showing house bias if people complained.

Which he couldn't say he truly disagreed with, but that didn't make her any less lax in her duty to investigate grievances when they were aired by student or staff.

A situation that was made all the worse by the board, who were unwillingly to have anything bad said against such an old and trusted member of staff.

Severus knew he wasn't all that was sunshine and fairness, but no one expected him to be, he'd been the same nasty greasy bastard since he'd turned seventeen and Lily had decided to go on a date with Potter.

The old tabby was different, she'd never been wholly fair or completely unbiased, she was human after all, but the way she acted now was a far cry from the woman she'd once been.

You simply couldn't get her to see the problems that were festering under her nose.

"Of course Minerva would force the issue. Because she believes-"

Lupin and the rest of the hall suddenly went silent as the great hall doors were thrown open with an echoing bang.

Stood in the doorway, backlit by the torches in the corridor beyond, were the Potter girl and Granger.

Though neither of them looked like they had when they'd both disappeared to the hospital wing.

Granger was standing straight and proud, a far cry from the hunched figure who'd shrunk under the whispering stares of her former peers.

Her uniform was no longer the prim and proper duplicate of her peers, the jacket had been lost and replaced with an indigo blue waistcoat edged in gold, in fact everything was edged in gold. From her black silk shirt and leather heels to the indigo blue skirt that looked considerably shorter than than the one she'd been wearing that afternoon.

The uniform itself was shock enough on a girl who had been known for wanting to play by the rules even at the cost of making friends, but the real kicker of the girls entire get up was her hair.

The base of her dark brown locks had been dyed the same colour as her new uniform; the colour licking up her tightly curled strands like fire.

Making her head look very similar to the thrice damned goblet the hall had been so entranced by before the two girls had made their entrance.

As the two girls moved down the middle of the hall with purpose, clearly looking for somewhere to sit, the whispers started a new.

Lupin sounded like he was chocking on his own tongue, and out of the corner of his eye he could just see Potter senior was shaking so badly he looked like he was caught between bursting a blood vessel and having a seizure.

Minerva and Maxime simply looked like they wanted to commit murder.

Any other day he would've given them his full attention, but today his gaze was solely focused on the Potter girl; even the once in a lifetime opportunity to see Potter senior and Minerva loosing their shit wasn't worth peeling his eyes off her.

A Potter was sporting Slytherin colours, nothing but Slytherin colours.

Something he was sure the school had never seen.

Her hair was vibrant green, with silver tips that writhed through her scruffy curls like they were made from living specimens of the houses emblem.

While her uniform, much like Granger's, was also altered.

Honestly it looked like a Beauxbatons uniform, and a Slytherin tie had sired a bastard child.

Severus was sure he'd never seen the like, not even when Albus had still stalked the halls.

The blazer was such a dark green it was almost black, while the lapels were a much brighter green with silver edging that bade the eye to follow it down to where the jacket cropped in above her toned waist, before it flowed around the back of the jacket and along a pair of flared jacket tails.

Even her shoes hadn't been spared and instead of the heels Granger still wore, Potters had been replaced by a pair of calf length boots, tied with laces that changed from green to silver and back again in a dizzying rhythm.

The only thing that gave any hint of the original uniform, was the Beauxbatons crest that still rested proudly over her breast.

Overall it was not a look Severus could condone as a teacher.

But as a Slytherin? He had to say it suited her a great deal more than the original uniform had.

After what seemed like an age the two girls took their seats at the Ravenclaws table.

The damn broke and the trickle of whispers turned into raging torrent of noise.

A torrent the two girls appeared to be more than happy to ignore.

Harmony stood in the large stone doorway; Hermione at her side.

Every eye in the room was upon them.

They stared down the would be gossipmongers for a few seconds before calmly, proudly, making their way slowly along the tables looking for a space.

Harmony could hear the whispers that followed them as they walked, she'd warned Hermione about this as they'd made their way over from the carriage.

She wasn't sure if it was the pep talk, the uniform or the hair that was enabling Hermione to remain standing tall, when earlier in the day she'd tried to shy away from the many eyes, but whatever it was she was proud of her friend.

She'd have hugged her if it wouldn't have ruined the moment.

A discreet glance at the staff table showed that every person sat up there was in some form of shock.

Remus looked like he was choking and Mcgonagall and Maxime looked ready to spit nails.

But the look she was most interested in was James, that man was shaking, shocked, indignant and very very red.

Harmony smirked, that was the look she'd been waiting to see.

They found themselves a space at the furthest end of the Ravenclaws table.

It put them more or less directly under the gaze of the staff, but the only person sat there was a blond girl whom her peers had left a suspiciously large gap around, especially considering how cramped the hall was. But the girls smile was friendly as they sat down, which was more than Harmony could say for most of the room.

She heard Hermione release a shaky breath.

"You okay?" She asked quietly out of the side of her mouth, aware that even though the noise had rocketed as they'd sat, it was not a question her friend would want being overheard.

"Yes. Just a little overwhelmed, but it's fine. I don't feel anywhere near as bad as I did when we were in front of the goblet."

Harmony nodded and placed a jacket potato on her friends plate.

"Try and eat something, and remember what I said yeah? You are in control. No one else can dictate who or what you are, so don't even let them try."

Hermione gave her friend a small smile. "I will, it's just difficult when they're all talking about us like this."

"They were going to talk regardless." Harmony looked around and could see more than a few heads twisting in their direction. "At least this way what they're gossiping about is the truth and not a load of stupid theories."

Hermione gave a slight nod of acquiescence, reaching for a pitcher of pumpkin juice, "There is that I suppose."

Harmony was just grabbing her own potato when a dreamy, inquisitive voice stopped her short.

"I like your hair. Is it to help keep the Nargles away?"

If the sound of watery coughing was any indication, her friend had just taken a sip of her pumpkin juice. Shooting out an arm, Harmony started to thump Hermione on the back even as she turned to the voice with an uncertain smile.

"Err, no? I just liked the way it looks."

"Oh. Father won't let me dye my hair. Even though it's so effective at keeping the Nargles at bay. He gave me this necklace instead"

Hermione was still coughing slightly as she openly stared at the girl, who was now holding up a long blue beaded necklace with a butterbeer cork dangling from the end.

"Not as effective, but it seems to do the job. I haven't lost nearly as many things yet this year. Though my shoes disappeared this morning. Look"

The girl pointed to where her feet were tucked under the bench; The two girls looked down curiously, just as the girl wiggled a set of feet that were clad in nothing but a pair of blue stripped tights.

Harmony frowned. "Haven't you got any other shoes?"

The girl shook her head sending a few strands of her wispy blond hair into her face. "No, when I woke up this morning the Nargles had took them all." The girl gave her a bright smile. "They'll turn up eventually, they always do."

"There's no such thing as nar-ouch" Harmony stood on her friends foot cutting her off before giving the blond girl a tight smile.

She genuinely seemed to believe these creatures existed, apparently not realising the disappearing shoes were more likely the work of bullies.

"We can help you find where the Nargles took them if you like?"

Hermione made a noise of protest, which Harmony shut down with a look.

She loved her friend dearly, but she was never going to be one to waste her time on things she deemed nonsense, she'd much rather cut them down with a quick parry of facts and move on with her day. Not something that Harmony thought would go down well with the blond girl.

Thankfully her look was apparently enough because a wave of understanding came over her friends face.

"No. There's really no need. Like I said they'll turn up eventually. I'm Luna by the way. Luna Lovegood."

Harmony suddenly realised none of them had actually introduced themselves before jumping into a conversation about bizarre shoe stealing, dyed hair disliking, creatures.

"Oh. Well this is Hermione Granger, and I'm Harmony Potter"

Luna giggled slightly. "I know who you two are."

Harmony's smile dropped slightly and she felt Hermione tense, surely this girl wasn't going to turn out to be another one of their accusers, was she?

"Do you?" Hermione voice was stiff as she eyed the girl

"Oh yes. What happened in the entrance hall was horrid. The Nukpus can have a really nasty temper when they choose, I get pushed around in the hallways by them all the time. You and your friend must have stepped on one of them when you tried to get to the Goblet. Not that that's your fault of course. They're not visible most of the time, and they do choose to sleep in the oddest of places."

Seeing Luna really was being totally genuine Hermione relaxed, even as Harmony's grin appeared full force again.

"I don't think I've ever come across that creature before."

She knew she was indulging the girl, but couldn't honestly see the harm, she clearly believed what she was saying and it wasn't like her belief in imaginary creatures was hurting anyone.

"No you wouldn't have done, they don't live in France. They only live in the Scottish Highlands these days. They roamed as far as southern England once, but the muggles have destroyed their territory. It's why there's so many around here. They have no where else to go. Did you know…"

Luna apparently had endless lists of imaginary creatures neither girl had heard off, and they listened raptly as they ate their dinner.

The poor girl seemed to be quite starved of people willing to simply listen to her, because she didn't stop talking until the tables cleared themselves and the headmistress stood up with a clap of her hands to gain everyone's attention.

Turning her full attention on the staff table Harmony noted that James still looked suitably pissed with her presence, but it seemed someone had managed to get him to act like an adult for the time being.

"It appears the goblet is finally ready to deliver it's verdict."

The Headmistresses voice carried well over the heads of the silent students; Harmony could almost feel the air vibrating with anticipation.

"When the champions names are called, I would like them to come up to the staff table and walk through the door you can see just behind us." The headmistress gestured to a wide oak door that Harmony hadn't noticed before. "Once all the champions have been announced, they will receive their instructions for the first task."

The headmistress pulled her wand and without warning extinguished all the lights, save the few weak candles in the floating pumpkins.

The hall was plunged into near darkness, the light from the Goblet now seemed so bright it was almost painful to look at, but not a single set of eyes moved away from the artefact even as the minutes ticked by.

Harmony's eyes were starting to feel dry; she was beginning to think the urge to blink would come before the Goblet did anything, but then the flames turned red, and in a fit of spark and flame it blew a charred piece of parchment into the air.

The headmistress deftly caught it as the flames turned ice blue once more.

"The champion for Durmstrang will be... Viktor Krum."

The hall erupted in cheers, the two girls were clapping mightily as the boy rose from his place at the Slytherin table and made for the antechamber.

His posture was slightly slouched, and the boy appeared to have no expression that would indicate whether or not he was pleased at being named. He simply disappeared through the indicated door without a backwards look.

"Well done Viktor!" Exulted Karkaroff. "Never doubted you my boy!"

Harmony shook her head, the rest of his students looked crestfallen and the man was making no effort to hide the fact that he had held the boy above them all, all along.

The applause died, and the waiting game began again.

The Goblet was quicker in making it's second decision, and it seemed only moments later that the flames turned red spitting out another charred name.

The headmistress grabbed the scrap as it floated back towards the table; a small smile flickering across her face as she read it.

"The champion for Hogwarts is." The headmistress paused, Harmony was aware that every single Hogwarts student seemed to be holding their breath.

"Alexander Hodge."

There was a beat of silence before one section of the hall erupted.

As Harmony and everyone else clapped politely, she noted that slytherins weren't joining in the celebrations for the new Hogwarts champion. Not that it mattered much, the uproar from the Lions was so intense Harmony was surprised the roof wasn't coming down around their ears.

The identity of Alexander Hodge soon became apparent when the Lockhart look a like strode confidently away from his madly cheering peers, and towards the door behind the staff table.

Apparently forgetting his ire with Harmony's presence, James began to shout drunkenly at the top of his lungs. "Woooo now that's what I call I profer champion."

The dickhead was clapping so vigorously that he knocked over his goblet splashing the front of his robes with red wine.

The Gryffindor boy stopped just in front of the door the headmistress had indicated and had the audacity to give the room a bow and a double handed wave as he disappeared from sight.

Harmony rolled her eyes in disgust, it was one thing to be happy about being picked, but that boy reeked of arrogance.

No wonder James was enamoured with him.

It must have been like looking in a mirror.

As the door shut the applause and cheering from the Lions was still going strong, even though the rest of the hall had settled down. The table finally calmed under the headmistresses urging, just as the Goblet sparked red for the final time.

Her heart was in her throat as she waited to see who would be announced as their champion, she really hoped it was anyone other than Fleur.

Hermione's hand found it's way into her as the very last charred scrap soared high into the air.

The headmistress reached out and grabbed it, just before it landed on the table.

Everyone could see her eyes keep re-reading the parchment, and they began to get restless as they were kept waiting for an answer.

For her part Harmony felt like she was on the verge of a full blown heart attack, when finally the woman's voice rang out of the heads of her silent students.

"And finally the champion for Beauxbatons." She sounded more like she was having her teeth pulled, than reading out a winners name. "Is Harmony Potter."

Harmony felt like she'd been hit with a bludger, she couldn't believe it.

She was aware of Hermione trying to urge to get up, but she just couldn't.

Surely this wasn't right.

She wasn't good enough to be champion.

"Harmony Potter! Up here please." Finally her friends insistent urging got through, and without thinking she stood from the bench and walked dazedly towards the door.

Even as all hell broke loose around her.

**Sooo, this is sort of a cliffie?**

**But I have to tell you the next update will be likely be the 11th of April, which is the Thursday after next. I'm off to Wales for the week starting next Tuesday and editing the next chapter likely won't be possible until after I get back. **

**So I think I'll go and hide in my cave until I'm due to leave.**

**See y'all in twelve days, Pink x (^^)**

**P.s if anyone is interested in seeing Harmony and Hermione's uniforms, I've posted drawings of them at the end of the Ao3 **

**version of this fic. **

**It won't let me post the link or put the address for some reason. **

**But if you want to find them simply type pinkwar out of sight Ao3 in to google and the story should come up. **

**The stories open to guests and registered users alike. **


	12. We don't always get what we want

**New week, New chapter. **

**Enjoy :)**

A cacophony of noise followed Harmony as she entered the chamber.

Krum was leaning against the mantle looking regale and brooding in his furs, while the Hodge was standing in front of the fire silhouetted by the flames.

The two champions looked towards her as she shut the thick door; blocking the angry, unintelligible shout of Fleur and James, as well as the curious, confused buzzing of the student populous.

Hodge frowned when he saw her.

"What are you doing in here?"

Harmony did no more than pay the boy a cursory glance, not really hearing him as she sat in one of the squishy brown leather chairs near the fire. Her mind was running riot as she tried to comprehend the completely incomprehensible situation she found herself in.

She was a champion.

Holy fuck, she was a fucking champion.

She was now bound by magical contract to compete for the entertainment of others whether she wanted to or not.

She thought she'd been prepared for this.

She'd wanted this, relished in the thought of becoming this.

But apparently she'd not been prepared in the slightest.

Clearly it was one thing to believe you could become a champion and compete for glory in the abstract.

But to know she was now expected to undertake three extremely dangerous tasks, tasks that in all likelihood could kill her, was all sorts of sobering.

Though she was relived that at least it wasn't Hermione who'd been put in this position.

She'd feel so guilty if her best friend had ended up sat here like this, simply because she hadn't wanted to leave her alone in Scotland.

"-ello. Are you even listening to me!"

A petulant voice pulled Harmony out of her head; making her look up from where she'd been staring absently at her lap. The Lockhart lookalike was standing in front of her with his hands on his hips and his thin upturned nose so far in the air she had to wonder how the boy wasn't scraping the ceiling with it.

"Finally. I was beginning to think all that disgusting hair had made you deaf. I asked what you were doing in here. Do we need to go outside for the announcement of the last champion or something."

Harmony ground her teeth readying to snap at the imbecile when Krum's thick Bulgarian accent cut across the silent room.

"I vould think she is last champion. Da?

Looking towards the fire she found that the famous seeker was watching her with a pair of sharp unblinking brown eyes.

It was a look that was a little disconcerting if she was honest.

"Her?" Hodge scoffed. "You must be joking. I watched The Goblet reject her. There is no way she's been picked as champion. I mean just look at her!"

Harmony growled low in the back of her throat; turning to the boy with a scowl.

She was preparing to tell him exactly what he could do with his opinions about her appearance, when the door opened and in trooped the three heads, MacFarlan and Remus.

Hodge didn't even wait for the door to be closed before he walked over to Mcgonagall to demand answers.

"This girl claims she's the third champion."

The boys smarmy smile made her hands itch with the urge to punch his brilliantly white teeth down his prissy throat.

McGonagall rubbed a hand down her face as she sat in the seat opposite Harmony. "That is quite correct Mister Hodge."

The boys smile dropped, only to be replaced with one of pure indignation. "But she can't be! We all saw the Goblet reject her. She must have cheated!"

"I can assure you mister Hodge. She has entered her name, and the Goblet had chosen her fairly."

The headmistresses voice dropped.

"Though what it was thinking I have no idea."

Harmony felt her face burn with anger from the headmistresses insult.

"Oui, I quite agree." Maxime piped up from her place next the Scottish woman's shoulder, apparently the woman had heard the insult as clearly as Harmony had.

"Zere is no way she is a suitable champion to represent my school. Zer must 'av been a glitch. Even 'er father does not believe she iz good enough. I demand zat ze Goblet is zet up once more and ze names are re-submited. I cannot believe zat ze judge thinks zis girl iz ze best my school 'as to offer. I will not accept-"

"No of course you won't." Remus growled from near the door. "You're never willing to accept anything where Harmony's concer-"

"Remus!" Mcgonagall's sharp reprimand cut the man off mid sentence.

"Olympe, I apologise if she isn't your first choice, but the goblet cannot be set up again. She has been chosen and we will all have to live with it."

"Ah, but Mini-" Started Maxime, the pleading in her voice clear.

Mcgonagall cut her off sounding incredibly old. "Olympe there is truly nothing that can be done. I would suggest you try and set your issues aside and support your champion. As the other schools will support theirs."

The headmistresses words held an edge of finality and a chilly silence settled over the room, until someone clearing their throat broke through the ice.

"Ahem. Right.. well..er, I think it's time we got down to the nitty gritty."

A tall man with chocolate brown hair streaked with grey stepped into the firelight revealing his craggy, but kind features to the room. His Scottish accent was warm and his smile was genuine, though a little strained.

Overall his demure was a far cry from the frosty one Maxime was transmitting towards her.

"Right then gentlemen and..er lady." The mans eyes flicked over her but quickly averted onto a space somewhere on the mantelpiece.

"Your first task will take place on the twenty fourth of November at one o'clock in the afternoon. None of you will be informed of what the task is, since it has been submitted by the Bulgarian ministry to test your daring, and what better way to do that than make you think on your feet."

The man beamed, even as Harmony's stomach gave an uncomfortable lurch.

"You will only be permitted to take two things with you into the task, those being the clothes on your back and the wand in your hand. We will of course be testing all the wands before the task to ensure they're all in good clean working order. We don' want any cockatrices going on the rampage after all."

MacFarlan tried to make it sound jovial, but really his attempt at lightening the mood fell flat, and seven pairs of eyes simply stared at him quietly, causing the man fidget.

"Ahem... yes well. You will receive instructions for the second task on completion of the first. I would also like to point out that as champions you are exempt from any end of year exams which I'm sure you'll find a bit of a trea-"

"Excuse me." Every eye in the room turned on Harmony.

"Yes Miss Potter?" The mans bushy eyebrows scrunched together on his forehead like a pair of thick caterpillars.

"Do we have to be exempt from exams? I have a very important one due at the end of May and I really don't wish to miss it."

The caterpillars rose up the mans forehead until they joined his hairline. "Of course you may still go through with your exams if you wish Miss Potter, but the exemption is there to give the champions the ability to focus on the tasks and not trivial things such as school work."

Harmony frowned. "School work may seem trivial to you." Someone at the back of the room snorted, though it was quickly turned into a cough.

"But I haven't spent the last few years working my arse off in order to have my exams cancelled at the last minute. I wish to still sit them at the proper time."

"As you wish Miss Potter. Though personally I think it is foolish to be giving your attention to anything other than the tournament."

"Mademoiselle Potter iz well known for being foolish." Came Maxime's snide remark.

Harmony grit her teeth but didn't say anything, she wasn't going to give the bitch ammunition.

"Err, yes. Anyway."

MacFarlan looked incredibly uncomfortable at being caught in the middle of such a hostile atmosphere and began fiddling with the cuff his robes as he forged ahead.

"One last thing I must mention is of course the traditional Yule ball that takes place on Christmas Eve. The champions are expected to open it with a dance, so I would suggest looking for a date a soon as possible."

His eyes flicked over Harmony's hair.

"You may find it harder to find a one than you think and you don't want to be leaving it to the last minute." MacFarlan turned to the headmistress. "I think that's everything isn't Minerva? Unless you have anything else to add."

The woman shook her head. "No Hamish. I think you've explained everything quite admirably"

"Excellent. Well I best be getting back to the Ministry to talk to Cynthia, She'll have the paper work sorted by now I'm sure and we have to announce the names for the morning papers to. I'll see you all on the twenty forth."

If the mans hasty retreat was anything to go by he was quite glad to be leaving the tension filled room behind.

Mcgonagall rose from her seat with a sigh, straightening her robes. "I think it's time we all retired for the evening. Olympe, Igor would either of you care for a night cap?"

"No, that's quite alright Minerva, we really must get back to the ship. Plenty of celebrating to be done you know. Come along Viktor."

The broody boy moved to follow his headmaster; sending Harmony a solemn nod of farewell, which she returned.

Though she noted he did not deliver one to Hodge.

"I must also decline ze offer Mini." Said Maxime as she watched the Durmstrang head and his champion depart.

"I must go and console my students." The half giant sent another sharp glare in Harmony's direction. "Miss Delacour was most distraught when she left ze hall. I must make zure she iz okay."

Mcgonagall nodded. "I quite understand Olympe." With no word of congratulations to either Harmony or Hodge the woman left the room in a flurry of moody satin and fur.

"Come along Mister Hodge, I shall walk you back to your dorm before I retire for the evening." The headmistress drew her tartan shawl around her shoulders and headed for the door.

The boy looked between Remus and Harmony who were making no move to leave. "But what about-"

"I am quite sure Miss Potter and Professor Lupin are able to find their way back to their respective beds for the night, they do not need us to hold their hand." Mcgonagall held the door open; gesturing for him to leave.

When the boy merely continued to fish gape, the woman snapped; finally loosing what little patience she had left.

"Mister Hodge I would strongly suggest you move, lest you wish to gain detention for missing curfew."

"You can't do that! I'm champion. You have no right!" The boys voice rose several octaves like his balls had been caught in a vice.

Mcgonagall scowled. "I can and will still issue detentions to _any_ of the champions Mister Hodge, this is my school and my patience is steadily wearing extremely thin with people who seem to think otherwise. So if you do not wish to spend the next week in Mister Filch's excellent company, I would strongly suggest you follow my advice and get back up to your dorm before the aforementioned curfew kicks in."

Apparently the boy was aware enough of his own mortality to understand that angering the headmistress was not good for his health, because after a hasty nod of agreement and one last look towards herself and Remus Hodge made a hasty retreat through the open door.

Harmony couldn't resist smirking, if that was all the back bone the priggish boy was capable of Morgana help him during the tasks.

Unfortunately McGonagall saw the smirk and turned her ire on her now that Hodge was gone.

"You can wipe that smirk off your face Miss Potter, you may think you have won but you are sorely mistaken. Madame Maxime has permitted me to serve you detention for the next two months for the damage you have done to Professor Potter's face. I will not tolerate people thinking they have a right to act as they please simply because they've found a way to circumvent the rules."

The headmistress gave her one last withering look before she left the chamber; pulling the door shut so sharply the hinges groaned in protest.

"And then there were two." Mumbled Harmony.

The silence stretched.

Feeling the inexplicable need to do something, she got up from her chair and walked over to the crackling fire. Waiting for Remus to say something to her now that they were alone.

After several long seconds her pseudo godfather came and stood next to her, watching the merrily dancing flames for himself.

When the minutes passed and still nothing was said by the man, she looked towards him and found worried amber eyes staring back. Biting her lip, Harmony let loose the question that had been plaguing her since she'd seen the werewolf at the feast the night prior.

"Are you angry?"

Harmony wanted to chastise herself for sounding so meek, but as she averted her eyes from Remus's worried face, she could admit, if only to herself, that it simply wasn't in her nature anymore to be truly confrontational with those she was closest to.

She was always inordinately worried that one wrong word would make them turn their back on her.

She knew logically it was unlikely to happen, but James had stolen her inherent ability to believe that people wouldn't leave her for no reason.

It was a thought that was always festering in the back of her mind no matter how much she tried to make it go away.

"Honestly?"

Remus paused as he mulled over his words, knowing he needed to pick them wisely.

Sometimes his goddaughter could be like a feral cat, say or do the wrong thing and she'd run away to avoid getting hurt.

"Yes I am angry that you put your name in the goblet, since I know you know how dangerous this tournament is. Your life is worth more than mere entertainment-"

"But I-"

A large hand gently squeezed her shoulder cutting her off.

"Let me finish sweetheart. As I said I am angry...but... I've thought about this while you were in the hospital wing, and I've come to the conclusion that while I think you extremely foolish for entering, I also can't chastise you for it. Because I know if the roles were reversed I wouldn't have been able to resist giving it a go either. Though I have a feeling you entered the tournament for more than the abstract chance of becoming champion. Didn't you."

Harmony looked up at that, and found a pair of knowing eyes smiling back at her.

"I really did want to enter the tournament. The fact that it was held at Hogwarts and that I could rub my presence in James' face was just the icing on the cake. I never planned to cause trouble. Mischief perhaps, but I didn't come here with the express thought off pissing off your headmistress and slapping James."

The hand tighten comfortingly on her shoulder and Harmony shot Remus a grateful smile.

"The thing is me and Hermione originally came across information about the Geasan in a random book and we didn't really think to much of it to begin with, just one of those weird old spells you know? We were more interested in researching the tasks. So it was just put down as something interesting and left at that."

The werewolf nodded, causing the firelight to dance on his salt and pepper hair.

"Originally we thought once we arrived at Hogwarts we wouldn't be able to be sent back because of the distance. So as long as we played polite until we got here we thought we'd be fine and could simply enter our names if we still wanted to."

Remus ran a soothing hand over her shoulders as it became apparent how agitated she was with the situation.

"But then Maxime started threatening us with international portkeys if we stepped out of line, and we realised she would happily help James in his likely quest to remove me from Hogwarts whether I did anything wrong or not."

She scrubbed a hand over her forehead, the lingering pain from the concussion was still giving her gyp.

"And well you know me. Me not doing something to set the cow off is about as likely as me dyeing my hair blond and changing my name to Fleur. So since we knew the Geasan existed, we went looking for the exact terms. We wanted to know if being a visiting student in the vicinity of The Judge was enough to incite the Geasan or if we actually needed to submit ourselves for it to work, or if it really would only bind the champions as Maxime seemed to think."

Harmony ran a frustrated hand through her green hair, the whole situation had been a shit fest from beginning to end.

"It took us sodding weeks to find the information. Monsieur le Liant finally found us a book with the full set of terms. Once we realised submittance was the only thing necessary for the Geasan to work, I came to the conclusion I would have to submit my name as soon as possible. There simply wasn't another option if I wanted to make sure they couldn't remove me from Hogwarts. I honestly never expected to be picked. Even if I wanted to be. Though now I'm here it's not feeling as good as I thought it would."

Remus sighed at the messes his goddaughter always seemed to find herself in, but he could understand her reasoning.

Even if, to his mind at least, there was one very big flaw in her plan.

There was no way the Goblet was ever going to pick anyone other than her given the chance.

"And the hair?" He asked trying to lighten the mood.

Seeing his crooked smile Harmony felt relief flood through her even as she smiled back.

"Well I couldn't resist showing some solidarity for the host school, could I?" The werewolf shook his head fondly.

"Well it certainly suits you. I really couldn't believe my eyes when I saw that head of messy Auburn curls walking into the great hall. You didn't look right."

Harmony laughed. "You know Hermione said the same thing."

Remus hummed. "Yes, I notice you've finally managed to drag her down into your dark ways. Speaking of your friend I happen to know she's anxiously waiting for you outside. She got in to quite the altercation with Miss Delacour, your headmistress was not pleased I can tell you."

Remus paused, there was a lot more he wanted to talk to her about, but perhaps it was best not to do so tonight.

Because he noted that although she was smiling there was a definite worn slump in his normally boisterous goddaughter's shoulders.

She needed to rest and come to terms with the shock of being made champion and that wasn't going to happen here.

Rubbing a hand over his stubbled jaw, he came to a decision.

"Why don't you go back to your carriage for the night and you and Hermione can join me in my chambers after breakfast? They're just at the end of the defence corridor, Hermione should be able to get you both there. I'm sure we have plenty to talk about still, and I might just be able to rustle up a surprise for the new champion."

He knew instantly that he'd done the right thing, she brightened considerably at his suggestion, the strain leaving her smile as she pulled him down into a warm hug.

"Thanks, and we most certainly do have lot to talk about. Like how come you didn't tell me you'd gotten this job."

Remus pulled out of the hug and gave her an unimpressed look.

"In the same way you didn't tell me you were coming to Hogwarts you mean?"

Harmony flushed under the look, but the sparkle in her eye belied any look of contrition she was trying to show, causing the man to huff good naturedly

"Go on. Go and retrieve your friend and I'll see you both tomorrow."

"What about you? Aren't you leaving?"

The werewolf shook his head. "No I have a floo call to make and this room happens to be equipped with a connected fireplace unlike my chambers."

She gave him an understanding smile, before pulling him into one last hug and heading for the door.

"Oh, and Harmony."

At the sound of Remus's voice she stopped and turned, even as her slender hand settled on the door handle in preparation to leave.

"Congratulations on becoming champion. Whatever you may have thought, there was no way the goblet was going to pick anyone other than you given the chance."

"Thanks."

Harmony gave him a slightly misty smile, before opening the door and walking away.

She had a feeling if she stayed in the man's presence much longer she would've done something really embarrassing, like bawling all over him.

It was the latent effects of the concussion she was sure of it.

Rounding the staff table she spotted her blue haired friend.

Hermione was bowed over the Ravenclaws table even as she nervously tapped her fingers against the wooden surface

Harmony's boots were more or less silent on the stone floors, but it was enough to cause the curly head to look up.

A relieved smile covered her friends face.

Before she knew which end was up she was being embraced in a fierce hug, that left her with a mouthful of blue curls and the sense that Hermione was trying to squeeze her bones out through her skin.

Acknowledging the hug for what it was, she squeezed back with all her worth.

Hermione pulled away first even as her eyes started scanning Harmony's face at high speed.

Clearly trying to pick up on any sign of distress.

"Are you okay? Maxime looked ready to rip something apart when she went through that door."

Harmony nodded. "Yeah I'm okay. I mean it's not pleasant being told that you're not good enough to represent your school, but Maxime is never going to have a good opinion of me. So honestly her reaction was expected. You know as well as I do she was waiting for that goblet to shoot Fleur's name into the air, I can't imagine it was nice to find out she'd put her eggs in the wrong basket."

"No I imagine not. Though that doesn't excuse the fact that she did nothing to try and stop Fleurs little temper tantrum. The other staff couldn't do anything since they were to busy dealing with James but Maxime certainly could've done. I had to deal with it myself in the end."

Harmony looked her friend over, noting her hair had become more than a little dishevelled since she'd last seen her.

"Yes Remus mentioned something about that. He said you'd gotten into an altercation with her?"

Hermione flushed deep crimson even as Harmony's eyebrows rose to her hairline.

"You must be joking. You actually got into a fight with miss stuffy knickers. Way to go Hermione!"

If anything Hermione went redder still under her friends praise and she shoved her shoulder lightly in admonishment.

"Oh it wasn't like that. No one was making any attempt to stop her. Her little group of sycophants were all nodding along with the stupid things she was saying and Maxime was looking on with this horrid gleam of approval and I just lost it. I walked up to her and told her to shut the fuck up, and well it sort if escalated from there and before you know it I had my wand pointed in her stomach and she had a fistful of my hair."

Harmony felt her eyes bug. "_You_ actually told her to shut the fuck up."

Hermione rolled her eyes "Of all the things I've just said that's what you pick up on? And yes I told her to shut the fuck up. But it was in French so at least it was classy."

Harmony snorted. "Yeah, I imagine Maxime saw it that way, so what happened?"

"Maxime finally intervened, Fleur ran out of here like a distressed damsel and Maxime tried to give me a dressing down like some sort of errant child. But I think today's simply been to much for my emotional state, because I told her where she could shove her thoughts that you were a bad influence on me and I simply sat back down again to wait for you."

Harmony beamed. "Well screw the hair and uniform. I bet that's worked much better than my plan to get the Hogwarts students to change their perception of you."

"Oh yeah, they probably think I'm a nut case as well as a know it all mudblood now." Hermione looked down and started wringing her hands again, it was a habit that she rarely indulged in, but it was a sure sign that the girl was worried.

Frowning Harmony grabbed the wringing hands in hers, bringing them to a stop as she waited for her friend to look at her.

"I want you to listen to me, I've said this already today but I'm going to keep saying it until it sinks into that super smart brain of yours. You are not a mudblood, a know it all or a nut case. You are a brilliant witch who is full of passion for the things she's cares about, it doesn't matter if those things are people or books or something else entirely you will defend them to the hilt. That makes you the best person I know. If people can't grasp that then they don't deserve to have anything to do with you."

Hermione seemed to contemplate her words for a few seconds, before a small smile graced her lips.

"Thank you."

Harmony nodded, happy that her friend had listened to her.

"Come on we better get back to the carriage before Maxime decides to be a real bitch and lock us out for the night. What happened to James by the way if you were the one to dispatch Fleur?"

"Oh him." Hermione sounded thoroughly dismissive of the man as she linked her arm through Harmony's.

"I don't think I've ever seen McGonagall look so mortified or livid. She and the other teachers tried to calm him down at first but he simply wasn't having it, he made a right tit of himself in front of everyone. He was causing such scene McGonagall had to get an elf to take him back to his quarters in the end. The poor thing looked near tears when it saw the state of him. I wonder if-"

As the two girls left the great hall behind, they were oblivious to fact that their departure was being watched by a fondly amused werewolf and his husband.

¥§¥

As soon as they walked through the carriage door, their ears were assaulted by the sound of a banshee being killed, and someone trying to console them in rapid French.

The seating area was completely empty and the doors to the bedrooms were all shut tight.

Hardly surprising given the noise that was coming from Maxime's suite.

The two girls shared a look before quietly tiptoeing passed Maxime's door. It was unlikely the woman would hear their return above the noise of Fleurs wailing but you could never be to careful.

Just as Harmony made to follow Hermione into their room, the door next to theirs opened and a plaited strawberry blond head appeared in the gap.

"Armony?".

She could see Hermione was still hovering near the door, and waved her into the room.

"I won't be a second 'Mione." Her friend nodded and closed the door halfway as Harmony went over to the strawberry head.

"Cecilia? What are you still doing up."

The tanned girl rolled her dark grey eyes "Az if anyone can zleep with zat racket."

The head disappeared back around the door for a moment, before it appeared again this time accompanied by a rag rolled head of black. "Me and Emmaline vished to congratulate you, mademoiselle champion."

The black head nodded. "Oui." A dimpled smile appeared on the freckled olive face. "You are an excellent capitaine, neither ov us can think of a better champion to represent our school."

Harmony smiled. "Thanks."

"You are most welcome ma chère." The girls rich brown eyes sparkled with happiness, even as a rippling wail came from Maxime's suite.

The tanned head nodded in agreement with Emmaline's statement, before looking slightly sheepish.

"Er, we were vondering." Started Cecilia cautiously.

"If you vould be opposed to taking part in a quidditch game tomorrow? Nothing fanzie it iz more of a throw about really. Krum invited us at lunchtime, before ze.. err, incidont? But ov course we cannot accept such an invitation without our star seeker, non?"

Harmony snorted, typical Cecilia. Even with everyone else in uproar she was still thinking about quidditch. "So all the praise for being made champion was really just to butter me up, so I'd help you kick Krum's arse. I'm wounded guys."

Cecilia huffed good naturedly clearly picking up on the fact that she was taking the piss, but poor old Emmaline looked distraught and began shaking her head vigorously.

"Non, non, non. We really do think you are ze best person to be champion. He just was discussing quidditch and Cecilia over 'eard and well she couldn't keep 'er mouth shut about you and he asked about a game and I told 'er she should've asked you first but she-"

The girl was building up a good head of steam, so Harmony cut her off before it could turn into one of the infamous melt downs her chaser was known for.

"It's fine, I was only joking Emma. I'm meeting with my pseudo godfather after breakfast. But if you can get Krum to make it for some time after lunch I am more than happy to help show him that The Bluebells are the best around."

Cecilia beamed, while Emmaline simply looked relieved.

"I will talk to 'im at break'fast." Cecilia promised, looking like all her birthdays had come at once.

The wailing suddenly stopped.

Deciding they didn't want to be caught in the open by either Maxime or Fleur, the two girls bid her a hasty goodnight; closing their door with a solid snick.

Making a hasty retreat of her own, Harmony only just managed to get the door closed when the sound of footsteps echoed in the hallway.

Leaning against the door, she released a relieved sigh when the footsteps continued on towards the rooms at the other end of the corridor without pausing.

Hearing the shower going in the other room, she pushed herself away from the door, and removed her wand from the concealed pocket up her sleeve.

She really wasn't in the mood for Fleur and Maxime to come knocking in the middle of the night.

Hermione came out of the bathroom looking rosy and relaxed just as the last of the wards sunk into wood.

A flash of pink reassured Harmony that no one would be getting in to the room in a hurry and she threw her wand down on her bed.

She was incredibly tempted to simply flop face first onto her quilt, propriety be damned. But she was aching and still felt vaguely antisepticky from the hospital.

Rolling her shoulders Harmony placed her glasses on top of her drawers, before putting her uniform on a hanger in the wardrobe and slinging her black silk shirt towards the ever increasing pile of clothes under the window.

Shrugging a dressing gown on over her underwear, she grabbed a towel and her puffskein pyjamas and headed for the bathroom.

The room was still vaguely humid from her friends shower and the scent of lavender hung heavy in the air.

Twisting the gold knob on the wall she set the shower going, making the room steam up once more.

Hanging her pyjamas on the door, she dropped everything else near her feet; shoving her underwear in the washing basket Hermione had moved into the bathroom earlier in the day.

Testing the water temperature with her foot, she decided she could just about stand the temperature and ducked under the warm spray.

For several long moments she simply stood there; her hands flat against the dove grey tiles to support herself. As she straightened up she grabbed her bar of jasmine soap and began scrubbing away the lingering feeling of hospital and stares from her skin.

By the time she made it back into the bedroom, she found that the lights had been lowered and Hermione was already ensconced in her thick quilt, intently reading her battered copy of Jane Eyre.

Shoving her wand under her pillow, Harmony pulled back her own covers and flopped dramatically into her mound of pillows with a contented groan.

"Ah bed." She sighed happily. "If there's a better word in the English language I really don't know what it is."

Hermione snorted; putting a bookmark in her well loved novel and picking up her wand to extinguish the lights.

"What you don't think champion is a better word."

Harmony shook her head even as she felt the pull of sleep catching up with her, "Nope, bed is definitely the... better word. Who'd want to be...a champion...to much...bloody...hassle."

She had no idea if her friend said anything in reply because as soon as the last word passed her lips she was out like a light.

¥§¥

Harmony woke with a jolt as her head started to vibrate, blearily she groped around under her pillow until her fingers brushed over her alarm clock.

Pulling the device out she shut it off and threw towards the soft pile under the window.

It was still dark out, and the even breathing of the rooms other occupant let her know Hermione was very much dead to the world. Not that that was to surprising she supposed, after all her friend wasn't mad enough to be setting an alarm to go for a Saturday morning jog.

Pushing back her covers she sat up with a muffled groan; her body strongly protesting against the movement. Her back and head were killing her, likely because people weren't supposed to hit stone walls at high velocity.

Her jaw cracked with a heavy yawn as she cast a weak lumos.

Shucking her pyjamas, she left them in a pile at the end of her bed; shivering as the cool bedroom air hit her sleep warmed skin.

Grasping her wand and rubbing at her gritty eyes she started to rummage through her drawers trying to find something to wear, finally finding a red long sleeved t-shirt, a pair of black jogging trousers and a thick pair of handmade pink socks Emmaline's girlfriend had given her the year prior.

Slipping everything on, she pulled one of her thicker green sweatshirts over her head and set about finding her trainers in the dark room.

After several minutes of searching she found they'd been dragged under the edge of her bed by Hyacinth, who was busy chewing on the yellow laces.

"Oh Hyacinth!" Harmony kept her voice low as she admonished the bag. "Why are you chewing on my trainers."

The bag naturally gave her no answer. Though it did deem to spit the laces out before skulking off further under the bed.

Clearly she still hadn't been forgiven for being so heavy handed with her the day prior.

Shaking her head she grabbed the orange trainers and pulled them on, paying no mind the mangled laces as she did so.

Silently taking down the wards, she shoved her glasses on her face and put her wand in the large pocket on the front of her sweatshirt, before soundlessly tiptoeing out into the carriage.

Maxime was definitely still asleep, the snoring was so intense near the carriage entrance that it was rattling the fake Monet's that hung on the gold damask papered walls.

Creeping passed the room she was sorely tempted to leave a wake up call for the cow but thought better of it.

She was in enough hot water as it was.

Making her way down the steps, she tugged the carriage door shut and breathed in the frosty November air.

Looking around the grounds she let out and aggravated groan, even as she pulled on her green gloves.

The grounds were pitch black, and the sky was holding only the barest promise that dawn was on the way. She'd quite forgotten that unlike the Beauxbatons grounds the Hogwarts one's had no lights.

Deciding that it was probably best not to start jogging when she couldn't really see anything, (and promising herself that she'd alter her wake up time if she wasn't going to be able to jog anyway) she pulled her wand out and cast the strongest lumos she could; heading for the darkness of the forest.

She forgotten to go back for the training equipment with all the drama of the day before, and since she couldn't jog she could see no reason not to put the things away while she waited for the sky to lighten.

It wasn't like she could leave it indefinitely anyway. Since she really had no idea what the Scottish elements might do to the equipment if it was left exposed for too long.

Frustratingly she found that the clearing was much harder to find than it had been during the day.

But she eventually stumbled across the right place, after literally tripping over her fourth tree root of the morning.

Taking in the sight of all the blackened and partially destroyed dummies, Harmony shot half a doze light spheres up into the thick canopy of leaves and set to work.

Half way through her task she realised that Hermione had been right about dummy number six, as soon as she'd tried to repair it it'd simply turned into a pile of charred mush on the forest floor.

_Definitely going to have to ask Eddy for a new one. _

Muttering a quick Evanesco the dummy mush vanished into thin air.

After some concerted effort the remaining equipment was packed away, leaving the forest clearing pristine once more.

Lightly kicking the two tiny wooden chests, she wondered what to do with them. She really didn't want to go all the way back to the carriage with them, firstly because it was now light enough for her to go for her run and secondly she was likely to bump into someone she really didn't want to if she went back now.

Coming to a decision she walked up to the nearest tree, tapping it several times in quick succession, before gripping her wand like one might wield a sword.

As she held it perpendicular to the trunk she started to move the tip against the bark in tightly controlled circles.

After several painstaking minutes, and the imminent feeling that her wrist was about to break, a nice little niche dutifully carved itself into the trunk.

Grinning to herself she wiped the beads of sweat from her brow and grabbed the two shoe box sized chests; heaving them into the newly created hole.

Satisfied that the boxes were secure, she moved her wand over the trunk on a slow zigzag pattern until the tree appeared whole and unmarred once more.

No one would ever guess she'd turned one of the Scots pine's into a cubby hole.

With one last approving glance at her handy work, Harmony pulled the bobble off her wrist and scraped her scraggy hair up into a ponytail, before setting off through the trees at a steady jog; heading for the castle in the distance.

She was busy winding her way through the greenhouses, when the heavens opened.

"Fuck!"

She was ashamed to say that the screech that left her mouth was about as girly as one could get, but she challenged anyone not to screech like a banshee when they'd were unexpectedly drenched in freezing Scottish rain.

Less than a minutes exposure to the heavy deluge had left her soaked to the skin.

Looking around for somewhere to shelter from the worst of the weather, she noticed one of the greenhouses was unlocked.

As she rushed through the partially open door marked with a large number seven, she unexpectedly collided with someone.

Sending them both to the floor with a thud.

**Sooo, from here on out updates are likely to be a little sporadic, probably close to once every ten to fourteen days instead of once a week.**

**I know this will disappoint some people so I want to apologise in advance, but the chapters are set to almost double in size from here on out and I simply don't have the time to edit them and write the new ones all during a single week. **

**The updates will always be on a Thursday or a Saturday though. **

**If the chapter sizes cut down, then the obviously the once a week posting will resume, but editing ten thousand words and writing new chapter is simply to much in such a short time frame. :(**

**If you see any typos ect please let me know, my dyslexia had been being a real bitch this week so I'm not hundred percent that I've caught everything. **

**I spent most of the chapter calling Hermione a Harmonica until I realised the spell checker was being a wanker. ; )**

**See Y'all soon, Pink X (^^)**


	13. What better way to start a day

**New week New chapter. **

**Enjoy! **

**(^^)**

Neville was transporting a basket of newly germinated Novalunas to their new home, when something small and green came hurtling through the door of greenhouse seven.

Sending him flying

He watched in horror as the basket of delicate seedlings slipped through his fingers; scattering all over the grimy greenhouse floor.

The green thing landed on him; knocking all the air out of his lungs and letting out a series of expletives that would've made his grandmother faint… and his father laugh.

"Fucking cunting arse shitting hell."

The swearing lump pushed itself up off his chest, and he was confronted with a petite face and a pair of wide green eyes.

"Shit. I am so sorry, I was trying to get out of the rain. I didn't know anyone would be in here! Though I suppose I should've done given that it was the only one open."

The girls words left her mouth in one large contrite rush; he suddenly realised it was none other than the Beauxbatons champion that had landed on his chest.

He was so dumbstruck that this swearing unkempt girl was from a school even his grandmother managed to praise for its decorum, that he didn't notice her reaching to pick up the scattered, whining, seedlings until it was too late.

"Nn-n-no, no you shouldn't touch those with bare hand-..."

Neville stopped short when he realised the girl had in fact not picked up the delicate seedlings with her bare hands, but had instead pulled her sweatshirt sleeves down over her fingers and was gently scooping them up a few at a time; depositing them on the mound of soil he'd gotten ready on the potting table.

Harmony was so amused by the antics of the newly germinated Novalunas, she completely missed Neville's attempt to stop her touching them.

Placing the last of the plants on the table she flicked her sopping ponytail over her shoulder and turned back to the boy who was still laying on the floor where she'd knocked him down.

He appeared to be in shock.

She took a step towards him and held out a hand.

"Sorry, I probably should've helped you up first. But I know these little guys really shouldn't be on anything quite so hard as the floor yet."

Neville gave the hand a brief glance, before allowing the petite girl to haul him to his feet.

"You knew not to touch them." Those were not the first words he'd wanted to come out of his mouth and he just knew the tips of his ears were turning pink.

Harmony frowned, not noticing the pinking ears. "Of course I know not to touch them. Novalunas shouldn't be touched by bare skin until they're at least a month old, it damages their delicate membranes otherwise. And these little darlings can't be more than a day old at most since the first new moon of the month was last night."

Harmony turned back towards the table as she spoke to him, far to enamoured by the little bobbing beady white flower heads to leave them alone for to long; once more holding out her jumper covered fingers as the plants came forwards seeking attention.

Neville moved towards the table himself, coming up behind the girl; feeling rather bewildered as he watched the few dozen tiny seedlings pushing each other out of the way in their attempt to vye for the girls attention.

"They're not usually this friendly."

Harmony glanced around at the boy. "Really? The ones in the Beauxbatons greenhouses are usually so friendly I have to stop them getting into my bag and following me to my next class."

"Not usually this friendly around strangers I mean. Or when they're newly germinated for that matter."

Not that Neville could blame them he supposed, he wasn't the most outgoing of people, but despite the swearing and the general air of bad girl around her he already felt quite at ease in her presence.

Proving his theory that if the plants liked someone that was all the reassurance anyone should need.

"Oh." Harmony moved away from the little white plants and looked around the large greenhouse.

"Anything else I should be wary of not being friendly to strangers? It looks like I'm going to be here a while."

Her grin was disarming and Neville couldn't resist grinning back, even as he felt a unexpected lurch somewhere in his chest.

"The Venomous Tentacula doesn't tend to like strangers very much.. or anyone for that matter, but I just pruned her yesterday so you should be safe."

Neville gave the girl an appraising look. If she knew about the Novalunas perhaps she could help him.

"I don't suppose you know anything about Aquavinea do you? I need move one to a bigger pot and your already so..er..well..."

He started to stumble over his words; turning beetroot red when he realised there was no polite way to ask the girl if she'd mind helping him because she was already soaking wet.

Harmony giggled as the boy stumbled over his tongue, "You want to know if I would mind helping you move a plant that is notorious for spraying it's carers in water, because I'm already wet and it would keep you dry. Is that what your trying to ask?"

"Well yes, but you know, I mean, you don't have to."

She giggled again, and Neville felt another lurch in his chest at the sound.

"Go on then. I might as well help. I can't get anymore sopping than I already am. I'm Harmony by the way. Though you probably know that already."

"Oh, I'm Neville. And er I'd sort of forgotten your name actually. I wasn't paying much attention last night."

The boys grin was sheepish and Harmony finally realised why the boy looked familiar, he was the one who James had been trying to force into entering the Goblet.

"Don't worry about it. It's probably better that way."

Neville scratched the back of his neck, not to sure what to say to that.

"Oh. Well er, the Aquavinea's over here. Professor sprout likes to keep him on his own in the corner, he tends to drown the other plants otherwise. He ruined a whole batch of Fogroses last month"

Harmony trailed after Neville, noting the subtle differences between this greenhouse and the one she helped Monty tend at Beauxbatons.

When they got to the far corner they found the Aquavinea was already waiting for them with several small leaf bombs, ready to drench them both as they approached.

In the end she probably ended up wetter than she would've done if she simply braved the rain.

But wrestling a water loving vine out of it's pot, with a friendly but sometimes oddly shy boy, wasn't a bad way to kill the hour it took for the rain to stop.

¥§¥

By the time she made it back to the carriage she'd been in her sopping clothes so long, she was starting to itch.

As she slopped through the main seating area and back to her room she noted that Maxime and most of the others had already left for the day.

Opening her door she was greeted by the sight of Hermione trying and failing to wrestle her curling solution away from Hyacinth.

It wasn't more than a split second but the distraction of the door opening was enough to make Hermione look away from her quarrel, taking her chance Hyacinth wrenched the bottle back and shuffled off towards the open wardrobe; her prize clenched triumphantly in her zip.

"Oh finally, can you please retrieve my-" Hermione stopped as she took in the sight of her sodden friend. "What on earth have you been doing!"

"Well originally I was putting away the training equipment, then I was taking a run when I got caught in the rain and after that I helped a rather nice boy with his plants. During the process of which I got even more soaked. So now I am now going to go and get a shower and remove these clothes before they weld themselves to my backside."

Harmony grabbed her towel and some fresh underwear and walked towards the bathroom; leaving her opened mouthed friend behind.

When she came back into the room a little while later, Hermione was still more or less where she'd left her, the only noticeable difference being she was now hopping around on one leg as she pulled her jeans on.

"When you say nice, do you mean nice as in nice or nice as in _Nice."_

Harmony raised an unimpressed eyebrow at her friend, even as she scrubbed her hair dry with her towel.

"I mean nice as in he was friendly, not nice as in he had an arse that looked like it could crack nuts. It was that boy James was being an arse to yesterday, Neville?"

Hermione nodded as she pulled her black and pink jumper on.

She knew who Neville was, he was one of the few who hadn't actively picked on her the year she'd been a student.

"Not sure what his last name is, but he really seemed to like his plants. He had these newly germinated Novalunas, they were so cute. I always hate that the poor things are essentially grown to be chopped up, they're so friendly."

Hermione shook her head, this was an old argument.

"Harmony you know as well as I do, if Novalunas are left to age beyond twelve months old the things go feral. It would be like a bad remake of the gremlins movie, just with really vicious plants instead of soft fuzzy creatures that shouldn't be fed after midnight."

"I know, still doesn't mean I have to like it though." Said Harmony as she pulled on a clean pair of leggings.

"I don't like it either, but I've had to learn that when it comes to certain things in the wizarding world we just have to accept it. I don't like the way elves are essentially enslaved but look at what happened when I tried to help them." Hermione pointed out, as she went and sat in the empty seat under the window to tie her trainers.

"Or do you not remember the mess I caused when I tried to set the Beauxbatons elves free using Maxime's clothes. They were distraught and Maxime was livid."

"Oh I remember it alright." Muttered Harmony as she pulled a vest over her head. "I was the one who got the six months detention for it, despite the fact I hadn't done it."

"My point is." Stressed Hermione. "The best we can do is simply make sure that the things who are put in our care are treated to the best of our ability. Now are you going to actually be a good friend and retrieve my curling solution from that beast you call a make-up bag, or am I going to have to hold your favourite boots to ransom?"

Harmony looked over at her as she shrugged her baggy green shirt on over her black vest, only to find that Hermione was indeed holding her favourite boots to ransom; by dangling them through the open window by their laces, and readying to release them.

Rolling her eyes Harmony pulled her hair out from down the back of her brushed cotton shirt and walked towards the wardrobe, psyching herself up for battle.

"Yes I'll get your curling solution. Now pull my boots back inside, it's still spitting and I really don't want the insides getting ruined."

Hermione pulled the boots back through the window just as Harmony stuck her head in the wardrobe.

She could just see Hyacinth's tasselled zip pull sticking out from behind a pair of brogues. Edging closer she tried to reason with her even as she made a grab for the tassel

"Hyacinth, sweetie. Can I just get Auntie Hermi- For fuck sake!"

The sound of Harmony's head hitting the back of the wardrobe echoed around the room; as the bag scuttled out under her arm.

"Hyacinth! will you just...Ow."

The bag bit Harmony on her bare ankle, as she tried to scramble after it.

She didn't care if the Novalunas went feral after a year they still had to be friendlier than Hyacinth in a snit.

¥§¥

The great hall was much less packed, than it had been the day prior.

Harmony wasn't sure if this was because it was just after half nine on a Saturday morning, or if without the goblet to incite the masses the Hogwarts students simply weren't that bothered about breakfast.

This worked out quite well for the two of them, since there were less people to talk about them and stare.

Though those that were there still did.

Fleur et al were sat at the Ravenclaw table listlessly picking at their food, their mood sombre; with none of the haughty mean laughter, or the rapid exchange of backstabbing French that had been happening at the table the day prior.

The group watched Harmony and Hermione walk by with a glare, though interestingly Fleurs head didn't look up from her congealing cornflakes.

Harmony was just swallowing a piece of toast, when someone decided to strangle her by throwing their arms around her neck and squeezing with all their worth.

"E agreed! We are having a quidditch game with Viktor Krum! Can you be'leave it! 'E said 'e will talk to ze school teams to 'elp fill our gaps. We will be playing against one of ze greatest quidditch players of our age!"

The arms released her neck, and Harmony turned her streaming eyes on the brilliantly beaming face they belonged to.

"That's-... great Cecilia-...but do you think-... next time you-.. could-... maybe tell me without-... trying to garotte me?"

Apparently completely unbothered about nearly asphyxiating her captain who was currently choking up bits of bread, Cecilia nonchalantly sat down and grabbed Harmony's uneaten slice of toast.

"If you inzist, but just think we are to play against Krum! I thought I would 'ave to make ze national team first!"

"I thought you said it was a throw about?" Enquired Hermione as she rubbed soothing circles on her friends back.

"It is." Choked out Harmony reaching for her goblet of pumpkin juice.

"Doze it matter what it iz" Cecilia sounded aggravated at the fact that they were missing the point. "Quidditch is quidditch and we are playing against Krum!" She grabbed the bacon off Harmony's plate and started munching.

Harmony huffed a sigh and handed over the rest of her breakfast to the blond girl; setting about grabbing some fresh toast and bacon for herself.

"What exactly did you mean by he will 'fill in our gaps'?"

The girl finished off the last of Harmony's bacon, sucking on her fingers before answering.

"I explain, we had only trois player, and he had non issue with zat, but he thought zat perhaps if 'e could find some extra player we could play a full game instead of simply having a throw around as it were. 'E said 'e would ask the other team captains in ze school if any of zeir player fancied a game."

Harmony pinched the bridge of her nose, honestly it sounded like a recipe for disaster.

Who was seriously going to turn down the opportunity to play with Krum? He'd likely have more players than spaces once he was done.

Though she was thankful that for once it wasn't her mess to be dealing with.

"Where's Emmaline?" Harmony asked curiously.

Her keeper and chaser were normally joined at the hip, to see one without the other usually meant trouble.

"And actually why are you sat next to us at all? You know Fleur will try and make a pariah out of you if she sees you here."

"She will likely make a pariah ov us anyway mon amie, we must support our capitaine champion. Besides it was affreux walking back to ze carriage with zem last night. It was like being in ze middle of a funeral procession. We are 'ere to have fun, non?"

"You clearly didn't care about supporting your captain last night, otherwise you would've said something to the stupid bitch when she was shouting obscenities."

Harmony heard Hermione's muttering well enough, but Cecilia apparently hadn't.

"Pardon?"

Hermione glared at the girl, "I said-"

Hermione was stopped from repeating her inflammatory words, as a mass of hot pink, otherwise known as her chaser, descended on them with a squeal.

Harmony breathed a sigh of relief, even as the black haired girl tackled her from behind in the same manner Cecilia had.

Cecilia and Hermione really didn't get on.

Hermione was to bookish for Cecilia and Cecilia was to coarse and party girl for Hermione.

They barely managed to keep things civil most of the time and she really didn't want that particular powder keg going off today.

Her head was still smarting from hitting the wall; she didn't need to be adding to the pain with a high-pitched argument in fast French.

Though if the nagging ache didn't ease soon she was going to have to go back to the matron.

"Good morning ma chère! I 'ave bought you a surprise."

An iridescent pink envelope was waved in the front of Harmony's face.

Grasping hold of it she held it out in front of her like she'd just been gifted a bomb.

She was vaguely aware of Emmaline odging Cecilia up the bench so she could sit next to her, but Harmony only had eyes for the envelope of doom.

Hermione started to snicker.

Her friend knew, just as well as she did, what this foul pink thing contained.

"You better open it" Hermione singsonged quietly in her ear. "You know they only get worse the longer you leave them."

Grimacing Harmony gripped the envelope more firmly in her hands and turned it over. She'd barely gotten the seal off before the great hall was ransacked by the loud screaming, singing and cheering of her teammates.

_Capitaine bien fait!_

_Nous savions que vous pouviez le faire. _

Every single person stopped what they were doing and turned their attention on her; while she in turn wished for the table to swallow her whole.

_Tu nous manques! _

The last loud exclamation from The Bluebells echoed around the great hall and the envelope exploded in a display of sparkling blue flowers and streamers.

The hall was oddly silent in the face of the over the top display and it took more than a few minutes for the normal chatter to resume.

It was one thing to be the centre of attention for her hair or her attitude, but quite another to be the centre of attention because her overzealous teammates had never heard of an understated celebration.

Eventually her face began to cool, (not that that stopped the three girls around her from ribbing her mercilessly) and she went back to eating her breakfast.

She'd just finished her goblet of pumpkin juice when several loud screeches from overhead made her look up, the morning post had arrived and two birds were heading for her at high speed.

They looked like they were trying to out fly each other.

Her beautiful snowy owl was the winner, and landed gracefully in front of her.

The gorgeously silky raven she'd been racing landed on the table behind her with a loud thump; barely managing to avoid upending the various platters of breakfast food that were scattered around the table.

She ran a gentle hand down Hedwig's back, cooing at her gently even as her snowy white familiar nipped softly at the fingers that were feeding her a scrap of bacon, now that they'd removed the letter from her leg.

She was quite sure her snowy owl would've been happy for the state of affairs to continue unhindered, but they were interrupted by the crotchety shrill call of the raven, who was clearly impatient they be allowed to deliver their own letter.

Gently Harmony encouraged her familiar towards the platter of bacon, while she turned her attention to the ill mannered bird.

The creatures dark intelligent eye bore into hers.

She was disquieted to realise the creature reminded her more than a little of the dour deputy headmaster.

"Alright, what have you got for me then?"

If she hadn't known better she would've sworn the bird rolled it's eyes at her, but it held it's leg out for her to untie the note attached to it.

As soon as the missive was removed, the bird let out an almighty guttural croak, and flew away, almost knocking her glasses off in the process.

Hedwig gave the creature an unimpressed look as it flew away, though her consternation at the birds lack of manners towards her owner didn't stop her from finishing off what remained of the bacon.

Harmony unfurled the missive, quickly reading over its contents.

Her muffled groan was enough to gain her friends attention who had been busy perusing the paper than had just been delivered.

"What's wrong?"

Instead of answering Harmony simply held the letter out to her.

She would bet her Firebolt this was because she'd called the man a creep.

Hermione's eye quickly scanned across the letter, before putting it down and giving her friend a commiserating pat on the back.

"Well you said Mcgonagall mentioned two months detention. At least this way you won't be forced to go out into the forest every night."

"I think I might prefer that actually."

Deciding there was nothing she could do. Harmony put her evening detention with Professor Snape to the back of her mind and pushed herself away from the table. Giving Hedwig one last affectionate pat as the bird flew off, presumably to the owlery for a good nap.

"Come on 'Mione. I promised Remus we'd meet him after breakfast."

Picking up her unopened letter and the note about the detention Harmony turned towards her two teammates.

They were both bent over a long scroll of paper that looked suspiciously like one of the endless horoscopes Cecilia poured over before they were due to have a match.

"I'll see you two for the game later. Where am I meeting you?"

Cecilia looked up from the roll of parchment, even as Emmaline produced a self inking quill and began to make some annotations in the margin.

"We will use Ravenclaws changing room to get ready. Krum says to meet 'im on ze schools quidditch pitch at one thirty. 'E was quite adamant everything would be sorted by then."

Harmony didn't think it would, but she nodded anyway.

"Okay, I'll see you there."

"Zee zat you do! I will kill you 'Armony Potter if I mizz my chance with Krum."

Cecilia's shout reached her ears just as they were leaving the great hall and she held back a smile.

She had little doubt the girl would track her down and gut her if she missed the allotted time.

When they eventually made it to the third floor defence corridor, Harmony couldn't see a single door that might lead to Remus's chambers.

The doors on either side of the corridor were clearly classrooms and the only thing at the very end of the corridor was a beautiful depiction of a silver wolf and her cubs.

Not seeing any other options they moved towards the painting.

As they got closer the wolf began to wag her tail; moving impatiently back and forth over the canvas.

Once they were within touching distance the depiction of the wolf walked off the side of her picture and out of sight, leaving her litter of cubs to paw at the front of the painting like a mime at an imaginary pane of glass.

The she wolf was greeted by her excitable cubs as she trotted back into the painting, even as the wall next to her frame popped open; revealing a smiling Remus.

He opened the wall wide enough for them to squeeze through, before ushering them up a short set of steps and into a spacious octagonal sitting room.

Harmony was about to ask Remus what the deal was with the weird entrance, but something in front of the fire caught her attention before she even got the chance.

Sat beside the fire, lazing about with his head on his paws, was Padfoot.

"Sirius!" Harmony rushed over to the animagus and caught him up in a hug, which was soon reciprocated as the dog turned into her very human godfather.

A pair of sinewy arms wound there way around her shoulders and her face was suddenly resting against a soft Rolling Stones t-shirt, that smelled vaguely of wet dog and engine oil.

"It's good to see you to Kestrel." The words were spoken into her hair as the man pressed a kiss into her green locks.

She was vaguely aware of Remus and Hermione disappearing off somewhere, but at the moment she was more bothered about the man hugging her, she hadn't seen him in months.

He'd been in Germany for much of the summer and he wasn't due back until Christmas...

He wasn't due back until Christmas.

"What the hell are you doing here!" Harmony shouted as she suddenly pulled away from the man; looking at him accusingly.

"I'm wounded kiddo, I thought you were happy to see me."

Harmony gave him a slightly harder than friendly shove.

Sirius immediately grabbed at his shoulder and started to rub at the spot theatrically.

"Oi!"

"That's not what I mean and you know it. You're supposed to be in Germany until Christmas or have you forgotten that you're meant to be finding a better muggle engine for the new line of Black Leo bikes?"

Sirius rolled his eyes, his goddaughter could be such a mother hen at times.

"Yes mother, I know I'm supposed to be looking for a new engine model, but how could I not come and congratulate the new champion. You're a triwizard competitor Kestrel, that's not something that happens everyday you know."

"It better not." Remus said lightly, as he walked back into the sitting room balancing a tray of tea things, while Hermione trailed behind him with a plate of biscuits. "I don't think my poor heart could take it otherwise."

Harmony paid no mind to Remus's quip, more interested in the dolt sat in front of her for the moment.

"I'm serious, what are you doing here! There was no need to come all the way back for this. That deal is important!"

"I think you'll find I'm Sirius actually." Sirius waggled his eyebrows, but seeing the scowl on Harmony's face and the unimpressed look on his husbands, he deflated and dragged a hand through his long aristocratic hair.

Hermione handed him a mug of tea, which he accepted gratefully even as he goddaughter's glare intensified.

"Godric stop with the look already, I'm here because I wanted to congratulate you-"

"Sirius-" Harmony started to admonish, but he cut her off.

"And I was already done in Germany anyway. The deal went through two days ago. I arrived back at the den last night, and Moony told me what had happened and well I couldn't not come here could I. Even if it does mean I have to share the same breathing space as good ol' Jamie. Not that I've actually seen hide nor hair of him yet. Been to busy with Moony's arse to care about that wankers"

Remus started to choke on his tea.

Trust Sirius to bring his and Remus's sex life into the conversation.

Everytime she saw him it seemed to crop up somewhere.

"To much information Sirius. I've only just had my breakfast for Morgana's sake." Groaned Harmony as she put her head in her hands.

Though she supposed this still wasn't as bad as that summer in Greece.

She'd been thirteen and had gone down the villa's kitchen in the middle of the night to get a bottle of water. Only to find them going at it like rabbits over the kitchen table.

She'd refused to eat there for the remainder of the holiday.

She could hear tittering coming from the seats and she just knew Hermione was getting a kick out of this.

She always did.

"That's not to much information kestrel. To much information would be for me to tell you all the great things Mooney can do with his-"

"Sirius!" Remus's voice was sharp, though his eyes held a definite twinkle.

Harmony pulled a pillow off the nearby seat in an attempt to smoother herself, she did not need know these things.

Sirius smirked at his his goddaughter's discomfort.

"Sex is sex kestrel. You need to get used to the idea." Sirius frowned as a thought occurred to him.

"Well not personally, in the abstract I mean. If I find out anyone's had their wicked way with you they'll soon be getting acquainted with Padfoots teeth."

Harmony rolled her eyes as she pulled the pillow off her face; levelling her godfather with an unimpressed look.

"Trust me Sirius, you have absolutely no need to worry on that score, no one had so much as taken a second look let alone done anything. I am, as they say, pure as the driven snow."

Sirius's smile was blinding, he looked like all his Christmases had come at once. "Good."

Harmony huffed and pulled the pillow back over her face, why had she missed the prepubescent man child again?

She kept the pillow over her face as the people around her chatted, suddenly feeling a little out of sorts.

Perhaps the bacon had been bad at breakfast?

Hermione's voice suddenly cut through her musings about the house elf's cooking and she turned into the chatter once more.

"-emus did you manage to get those books I asked you about before you went back to classes yesterday? The ones in the restricted section."

Remus made a noise of acknowledgement, before setting his cup down. "Yes. Only two of them though. Come into my office and I'll find them for you."

Harmony heard the loveseat's springs groan under the shifting weight of the pair as they got up.

"Madam Pince was not overly enthused about letting me take them I can tell you. I swear the woman is half dragon. The other day I..."

Remus's voice trailed off as the door to his office closed behind them.

Harmony removed the pillow from her face and reached over to the coffee table for the mug of tea Remus had made for her.

Picking it up, she ran her fingers along the rim not really seeing it.

She really did feel like she was crashing off a major high.

It was almost like her brain had decided that now she was in the presence of her 'family', it was okay to unleash all the crappy feelings she should've felt when she'd woken up after James' unjust emotional pummelling.

"How're you doing Kestrel?"

Harmony looked up from where she been absently running her fingernails over the slightly chipped edge of the mug; to find her godfather was looking at her with the most serious look the man possessed.

Any other time that pun would've sent something inside her tittering, but she just couldn't summon enough energy to do so.

"Honestly? I really don't know." Harmony licked her lips slightly unsure if she should ask this or not. "Did Remus tell you what James said about me while I was unconscious?"

Sirius set his cup down. "He did. Though he seemed to think you hadn't heard anything."

Harmony shook her head. "I think I heard all of it to be honest. I was sort of there, but not at the same time if that makes any sense? Didn't stop the bastards words from sinking in like a knife though. It's weird really, when I woke up they didn't seem to have really had any effect and yet now I'm here they seem to bringing all the turmoil I thought I'd avoided back to the surface."

Harmony looked back down at her mug with unseeing eyes, and started to run her finger up and down the handle.

Unbidden the mans voice rang through her head as if she was back in the hospital again; replaying the repellent, heartless words he'd so casually thrown around.

Her face scrunched up in discomfort as the niggling ache at the back of her head got worse.

It was like someone was taking a beaters bat to her skull.

"How could he say those things Sirius?" Harmony asked, her voice quite, yet loud in the silent room. "I know he doesn't like me or want me around, but to actually say he'd rather I was dead and that my life apparently amounts to nothing because I'm not like mum. It's not just repulsive it's down right cruel."

Harmony snorted self deprecatingly, as different thought danced through her head like a neon flag.

"Though now I've become champion he's probably going to get his wish sooner rather than later. What are the chances I'm going survive this. I'm not good enough to-"

A pair of roughened hands settled over the top of her making her stop and look up.

"Kiddo, we both know I'm not the serious one out of me and Moony."

The expected pun didn't come and Harmony had to acknowledge that this was one of the rare times the man was going to try and act like an adult.

"But I am going to tell you something, what that wanker said was wrong. The world would be a much darker place without you in it. It lost a lot when Lily was forced to leave it, I won't deny that. But it would've lost a whole lot more if you'd been the one to be taken in her stead. You and Moony are the only two things I care about in this life, it would kill me to loose either of you. I know I am not what anyone would call a fit guardian-"

"Sirius that's not-"

Sirius placed his fingers over her mouth cutting her off.

"It is true, I wasn't there when you needed me most, I was still so sure that James just needed time, and a bit of encouragement to see reason and although I didn't mean to I turned a blind eye to the person who really needed my support. I only pulled my head out my arse when I found out he was sending you away and by then the damage was done. I've never forgiven him for what he did to you and I know Moony hasn't either. What he said about you yesterday was disgusting and I can honestly say that if I get the chance I will hex the prick so hard he won't know what hit him."

Sirius gave her a small smile.

"Though apparently the mighty Harmony has already beaten me to it. Moony told me you were in hot water with the old tabby for smacking him one. I am so proud of you for standing up for yourself Kestrel."

Sirius moved his hands until they gently clasped the sides of her face; using his thumbs to wipe away the silent, small, tears that were leaking from the corner of her vibrantly unique eyes.

"And I know you'll make me prouder still, by kicking some arse in this competition. You will do more than survive this tournament, you will win it and leave everyone else in the dust as you do so. Anything less is unacceptable. You are not a person who fails Harmony Potter. People try to trample you underfoot, and you come back swinging. Don't let that idiots stupid opinions slay the Lion that lives in your heart. Let it fight."

Harmony could feel a lump forming in her throat as Sirius spoke and she threw herself at him.

His arms came around her in a fiercely tight hug, the likes of which she hadn't received in years.

She was unsure how long she stayed wrapped in his arms in the end, but she didn't pull away until the sound of the office door opening told her they were about to have company.

She quickly pulled out of Sirius's embrace and discreetly wiped at her face.

Hoping to waylay any questions about her over bright eyes, Harmony asked the question that had been plaguing her since she'd seen Remus at the opening feast.

"So we know that Sirius has done an early bunk from his responsibilities as usual."

"Hey!"

"But what are you doing here Remus? The last time you wrote to me you were having problems getting a job in a book binders. How did you end up a professor at the fabled Hogwarts."

Remus looked sheepish and rubbed the back of his neck.

"I did mean to tell you, but it was a very last minute offer. I applied at the beginning of the summer; I never expected to get a reply so I didn't bother to mention it. But just after I'd dropped you back in France to finish your holidays with the Granger's I got an owl from Minerva. Apparently I was the only qualified person to apply and the board could quite literally find no one else, I won the post by default. By the time the Ministry found out what was happening, the contract was signed and there was nothing they could do. I've been told in no uncertain terms the post will not be mine by the end of the year, but it'll still be the longest job I've held down since the MoM's registry came into being."

"It will remain yours if I have any say about it. I'm this close to getting that overgrown frog the chop." Sirius said with a scowl.

Remus sighed and slumped back in his seat. "Sirius, you've been saying that for years. Face it, Umbridge just has too many friends in high places. The chances of getting rid of her are slim to none."

"I will manage it Moony, the bitch needs to go."

"What exactly are you planning on doing to get rid of her Sirius?"

Hermione asked intrigued, she'd heard the woman was planning to table a notion for a muggle born registration service, if that passed there was no way she was ever coming back to magical Britain again.

Sirius beamed, "Why thank you for asking Miss Granger."

Harmony spent the next indiscernible amount of time listening to Sirius come up with ever more insane plans to remove the devil in pink from the MoM.

The niggling ache in the back of her head started to diminish until finally it disappeared completely.

She realised she felt lighter than she had at any point since arriving, and as she laughed and basked in the warmth of her pseudo families interactions, Harmony came to the conclusion that the niggling ache in her head hadn't been the after effects of the concussion after all, perhaps the pain had simply been the emotions her subconscious had buried.

She was chuckling at the absurd image Sirius had just conjured up of Padfoot chasing the frog and her cats out of the MoM when she happened to see the time.

"Shit!" Harmony scrambled to her feet rushing to grab her discarded boots.

"Problem Kestrel?"

They'd all stopped laughing, though Sirius looked greatly amused at seeing her try and fail undo her knotted laces.

"Yes, I'm supposed to be at the quidditch pitch by one thirty. It's already ten to and I've not even grabbed my things yet!"

Harmony finally got the laces undone with a cry of triumph, before shoving her feet into the boots and sloppily retieing them.

"And what pray tell is happening on the quidditch pitch?"

She rolled her eyes, putting in the green shirt she'd thrown over the back of one of the seats.

"A herd of hippogriffs are doing ballet." She said sarcastically before levelling Sirius with an unimpressed look. "What do you thinks going to be happening on a quidditch pitch Sirius! I have a game with Krum."

Not seeing the astonished looks on her pseudo guardians faces, Harmony placed her hand over the carved wolf head on the wall and waited for the hidden door to open.

The click of a latch signalled she could leave.

She rushed down the steps and out into the corridor, fully prepared to race off as soon as her feet hit the stone floor, when Hermione's voice shouted after her.

"Harm! You won't know how to get there if you don't wait for me."

That made her pause, she'd quite forgotten she didn't actually know where the pitch was.

Hermione scrambled through the open doorway, her precious books tucked under her arm, while Remus and Sirius followed after her.

The two girls bid the pair a hasty goodbye and rushed off down the corridor.

The two men watched their goddaughter and her best friend run around the corner and out of sight, looking for all the world like the hounds of hell were nipping at their ankles.

Turning towards his husband Sirius waggled his eyebrows in an exaggerated manner, looking every inch the over grown man child he was.

"Fancy watching a game of quidditch Moony?"

**§¥§**

**Well I hope you enjoyed that. And look no cliffie ;)**

**I know some of you may be a little concerned about Neville's apparent crush, let me say from the get go the crush will not be reciprocated by Harmony this is very much a land of Snarry.**

**But Neville's crush won't linger long and he won't suffer any heartache because of it, I like my plant loving lion to much to do that to him. :)**

**See y'all soon, Pink X (^^)**


	14. Quidditch, Detention & Pangs of guilt

**So I know it's been like three weeks but good things come to those who wait. **

**Enjoy!**

**Ӝ**

Harmony followed the distinct sound of her teammates laughter into the Ravenclaws changing room.

Her keeper was dancing around like some sort of demented hunchback, while her chaser wheezed so badly she could hardly stand.

Cecilia had somehow managed to not only trap a good ten inches of plaited hair into the zip at the back of her tunic, but also wedged both her arms through the neck of the garment as well.

Making it impossible to free herself.

"Emma." Harmony said, sounding equal parts exasperated and amused. "Help her will you. We'll never make it onto the pitch otherwise."

Pushing away from the wall she was using for support, the chuckling chaser approached her friend and began the arduous process of untangling her.

Harmony shook her head; setting her training gear down on the bench in front of her, even as a fond half smile graced her lips.

It could never be said that her teammates didn't drive her nuts but she wouldn't have them any other way.

A jubilant shout made her look back over at the duo as she pulled her ripped leggings up her legs.

Cecilia's head suddenly emerged from the tangle of hair and tunic. Looking red, but thoroughly victorious

"Merci capitaine."

"Escusez-moi!" Emmaline sounded incredibly indignant.

Harmony had to stop a snort from escaping. She always imagined it was what it would sound like to be reprimanded by a miniature poodle... if they were ever inclined to speak.

"It iz me 'oh 'elped you why are you thanking 'Armony!"

"I am thanking 'er, because until she came in you were too busy laughing yourself sick. You always do when I need 'elp!"

"Well I can't 'elp it if you're always so clumsy!"

"Clumsy! At least I do not trip 'ed first into ze wardrobe every morning!"

"Zat only 'appens because you always leave your towels on ze floor!"

"I only leave my towels on ze floor because you-"

"Guys!" Harmony cut them off as she finished inserting her contacts.

"You somehow manage to have this same argument every time we're getting ready for a game. Do you think just this once you could let it be? Krum will be expecting us on the pitch in a few minutes, and I really don't want to explain to an international quidditch star that we're late because my teammates were arguing about each others inherent clumsiness."

Without another word she grabbed her Firebolt from where it was resting against the wall. Leaving her swearing; scrambling teammates to follow her after her as soon as they'd gotten their arses in gear.

Setting eyes on Hogwarts pitch for the first time, Harmony couldn't help feeling a modicum of relief.

The pitch was flat and open.

A far cry from the fussy, intricately planted pitch she was forced to play on at her own school.

Don't get her wrong the Beauxbatons pitch was beautiful from ground level and she'd spent many a lazy day simply enjoying the highly scented plants with her friends. But to be frank, falling into a Fogrose bush from thirty feet in the air was not a pleasant experience, and she dared anyone to try and tell her otherwise.

Something that wasn't a welcome relief however was to find that the quidditch pitch was absolutely crawling with people, all of whom were dressed in the various team robes of the Hogwarts houses.

She'd just managed to spot the star of the show, when her two teammates finally joined her on the pitch; taking in the multicoloured mass for themselves.

"So much for 'aving everything sorted. What are all zese l'idiot doing 'ere? Surely zey do not all expect to play with Krum? I am not giving up my place for any zem."

The keeper was still fixing her arm guards in place, but it didn't stop her from sounding completely scandalised at the thought that someone might attempt to take away her opportunity to play against the Bulgarian.

Harmony ran a frustrated hand through her hair, only for her fingers to get caught in the bobble she'd tied around the base of the unruly strands. "I had a feeling this would happen when you mentioned he was trying to find other players."

Untangling her fingers, she held her broom out to Emmaline.

"Hold this for me will you?"

The chaser obediently juggled her own broom under her arm to grab hold of her captains.

"I'll talk to Krum and see what's going on. Though I'm warning you both, if he can't give me an acceptable answer I won't be letting us play. I refuse to be humiliated in front of this lot."

She motioned towards the stands that were rapidly filling with students who shouldn't have known to turn up in the first place.

Emmaline looked relieved that her captain was going to take the situation in hand; Cecilia looked like someone had stepped in her birthday cake, though she still nodded in agreement.

The famous seeker and his three Durmstrang teammates were stood well away from the mass of Hogwarts players, doing an admirable job of ignoring the stares, whispers and occasional giggles.

Though apparently Krum's obvious disregard for the schools players had gone unnoticed by one Gryffindor boy. Harmony could only see the back of him, but he was flittering around the star like a fly around a fresh kill, it was disgusting really.

A burly boy with bleached blond hair was the first to notice her approach, and he elbowed his ever scowling captain in the ribs to gain his attention.

Blondie said something to Krum and the dark unwavering eyes of the Durmstrang captain landed on her.

Her steps nearly faltered under the seekers intense look, but she kept walking.

She had a job to do after all.

Blondie said something else to the broody boy, and before Harmony knew what was happening Krum was splitting away from his teammates and heading towards her in all his duck footed glory.

Apparently realising the celebrity was leaving the group the Gryffindor boy followed after him, allowing her to get a good look at the imbecile for the first time.

She couldn't hold back a groan when she realised who it was.

It seemed fate had decided to gift her with another thorn in her side. As if she didn't have enough already.

The Bulgarian was the first to reach her, though unfortunately Hodge was the first to open his mouth.

His nasally voice reached out towards her, even as she wished she could simply give into her desire to deck him one.

"What the hell are you doing here, you've no right to be on this pitch. There's a game about to start. Get the fuck off!"

The imbecile looked like he'd stepped in something foul at the sight of her walking over the pitch; Harmony had to say the feeling was mutual and she sneered in derision.

"I'm here for the game numbnuts." She plucked at her turquoise quidditch tunic to prove her point. "Or are you blind as well as fucking ignorant."

The pompous arse sputtered indignantly but she ignored him; turning her attention on the boy who truly mattered at the moment.

Up close it wasn't difficult to miss how much bigger Krum was than the average seeker, she looked like a dwarf in comparison, but size had never intimidated her and she wasn't about to let it now.

International quidditch star or not.

"Can you tell me what exactly is going on here? I was under the impression we were having a simple game and that you would have all the logistics sorted by the time we got to the pitch. Instead I get here and find that half the ruddy school has turned up."

She gestured towards the ever filling stands and the large mass of house players that were standing around and aimlessly chattering to each other.

"Da this is correct." Krum's scowl deepened and she absently wondered where the boy had managed to find the extra facial muscles to achieve that feat.

"I haf problem. Ven I ask for extra player, vord escape bag and now all vish to play. I haf tried explain only seven needed but none listening. I thought best solution was let you haf pick first. I pick who left."

Harmony rubbed her fingers along her forehead in frustration.

She'd had a pretty strong suspicion that Krum asking other people to join in was going to end in disaster.

It brought her no pleasure to be right.

"Okay. So what you're saying is I need to convince four of that rabble."

She pointed at the students who'd suddenly coalesced into one group and were buzzing in displeasure.

"To come and play for me, so that you can wade in and pick three people more or less at random. Is that right?"

Krum appeared to mull over her words before giving a slow deliberate nod. "Da"

Harmony released an inaudible groan.

She soo did not want to do this.

"Why would anyone want to play for her!"

Hodge had apparently found his voice again.

She ignored the moron.

Shoving passed him she psyched herself up to confront the aforementioned rabble.

Krum said something to the twit, but his voice was such a low rumble she had no idea what the quidditch star said to the Gryffindor.

She sincerely hoped it was the Bulgarian equivalent of telling the boy where to shove it.

ʡӜʢ

Remus steadily walked towards the quidditch pitch, occasionally stopping to greet the odd student along the way. This was not something that was appreciated by his husband who was flittering around him like a toddler on a sugar high, and acting just as impatiently.

"Come _on_ Moony, hurry up. The game will be finished by the time you get your saggy arse in gear."

The werewolf raised an unimpressed eyebrow at his partner.

"Call my arse saggy again and I can promise you won't be seeing it for quite some time."

"_Oh_ _but_ _Moony_-" Sirius's whine was cut off as he was knocked into from behind by a pack of sixth year's. All of whom were toting camera's and rushing towards the quidditch pitch like their lives depended on it.

"Do be careful Mister Creevey. You could seriously hurt someone rushing around like that."

"Ss-sorry Professor Lupin!"

Remus shook his head as he watched Colin and his pack of camera mad friends disappear from sight. Not seeing them again until he took a seat next to his husband in the unused teachers stands.

He could just see Colin and his friends setting up their tripods near the entrance of the changing rooms. By the looks of things the photography club were attempting to get the perfect picture without getting in the way of the game.

Sirius was bobbling about in his seat and craning his neck in an attempt to get a better look around the pitch.

"Can you see Kestrel anywhere?"

A loud whistle drew Remus's attention to the area just under the teachers stand, looking down he saw a bright speak of turquoise and green stood in front of a mass of Hogwarts colours.

"Just down there, she's talking to the house teams."

He wasn't overly sure what exactly she was saying to them, even his werewolf hearing wasn't good enough for that, but he could easily see whatever it was, wasn't going over well.

"They don't look happy. I wonder why Kestrels talking to them instead of the famous dickhead."

Remus fought the urge to roll his eyes. "You're only calling him a dickhead because Harmony had a crush on him. Before you knew that, I remember you were highly enamoured of his flying skills."

Sirius crossed his arms over his chest, clearly on the verge of a full blown pout. "She shouldn't be having crushes at her age. It's not right!"

This time Remus gave into the temptation and rolled his eyes so hard he felt them wrench.

"For merlin's sake Sirius! She's seventeen. It's perfectly normal for her to have certain… desires towards people that are famous, or even people who aren't. Or do you not remember your own shrine to all things muggle and bikini clad."

"That was different though!"

Remus levelled him with an exasperated look. "Tell me how that was any different?"

Sirius looked into his lap, apparently unable to suddenly meet his husbands eyes. "It's not like I actually liked any of those girls. The posters were more about pissing off Walburga than anything else. I knew who I really wanted… it just took me a little while to get my head out of my arse, that's all."

Remus felt his heart melt, it wasn't often that Sirius made any type of declaration about his teenage feelings.

Clearing his throat Remus gave his husbands fingers a gentle squeeze.

"Be that as it may, it's perfectly normal for Harmony to have her fantasies. It's not like she's about to run off and snog anybody senseless."

A quick glance showed Harmony was still in the midst of trying to convince the teenagers in front of her of something, though the hands on her hips signalled she was about ready to give it up as a bad job.

"Besides, I have it on good authority her crush on Krum has long since burned out."

Sirius looked so very pleased by this revelation that Remus couldn't resist winding him up just a touch.

"Apparently her eyes have found purchase on one of the Beauxbatons stable hands instead."

His husband started to sputter, and Remus hid his smirk as he turned his attention back to Harmony.

§¥§

As Harmony approached the huddled mass of Hogwarts players, their conversation began to reach her ears and what she was hearing didn't bode well for negotiations.

"-don't want to play for the French I want to play with Krum!"

"We all want to play with Krum, but someone's going to have to play with the Beauxbatons birds otherwise none of us will get to play."

"There were boys in that carriage to Ronald."

"Shut up Ginny."

"We could force them be the ones to fill the gaps on Krum's team, then the school teams could all play against Krum. Wouldn't that be better?"

The last statement was met with a general murmur of ascent, and Harmony decided that she'd heard more than enough.

Placing her fingers between her lips she released an ear splitting whistle. Effortlessly gaining everyone's attention, with the lovely side benefit of making all the gossiping little buggers jump like she'd lit their arse on fire.

Seemingly as one every set of eyes turned to look at her.

Suspicion and stubbornness was etched onto every face and she had a feeling this was going to be a harder sell than even she'd thought.

"Hi, I'm Harmony Potter. Captain of the Beauxbatons Bluebells."

She attempted to smile at the rabble, but she was pretty sure it didn't reach her eyes.

Meaning she probably looked more like a shark scenting blood than I trustable quidditch captain.

"I couldn't help but overhear you wondering why you must make up the space on my team instead of simply playing against Krum in your own. The answer is quite simple. We, as in my other two teammates and I, were asked to play before you were even let in on the secret. Krum has only requested your presence to give each of us a full team. You are essentially filler."

She was well aware wording in such a manner was unlikely to gain her any fans, but she was never anything other than completely blunt with her teammates and she wasn't going to change that simply to try and save these students apparently sensitive egos.

"I am more than aware however that filler or not you have been offered the chance of playing with a legend and that none of you will willingly want to give up this possibly once in a lifetime opportunity. However there are..."

Harmony did a quick head count.

"Over twenty of you and only seven spaces to be filled. Krum has told me in no uncertain terms that he wants me to pick first so that he may simply pick out the three he requires at random. A lot of you are going to be disappointed, so I am going to give you an ultimatum. Come and play for me now or not at all. Do not think for one moment that you can come to me begging for a spot once you've been turned down by Krum. I would rather play short on players or not at all, than try and play with a teammate who's harbouring resentment for the position."

A few looked like they were considering her words but the majority still looked mulish to the extreme.

So she decided to go in for the kill.

"Look, if you come with me you may not get the chance to say you've played for Krum, but you'll certainly be able to say you've played against him. And I can tell you right now that if I have my way you'll be able to say you've beaten him as well. Surely that's better than sitting on your hands and watching other people play. Isn't it?"

"Yeah right."

It didn't take Harmony many seconds to realise it was the tall red head at the back of the group who'd snorted derisively.

She levelled the boy with a fierce glare, causing him to fidget under the intense weight of it.

"I would suggest if you have something to say, you say it to my face instead of snorting it into your armpits."

The boy turned red and gave her a barely passable glare, even as several of those around him started to snicker.

Surprisingly though he didn't back down.

"You're all talk, what chance have you got of beating Krum, no one's beaten him in years. _He _is an international quidditch star and what are you. Some random French bird, who's not really French and walks around in slytherin colours. Why should we believe a single word out of your mouth."

Various people in the huddle nodded in agreement with the boys words, and the red head puffed up with underserved smugness.

She narrowed her eyes at the gangly Gryffindor.

"Frankly I couldn't care less if you think I'm untrustworthy or even delusional. The only thing I'm bothered about is whether or not a person can play. Which I would have to assume you can't, since you seem so adamant that Krum can't be beaten."

The boy turned crimson, loosing his puffed smugness and sinking down into the neck of his Gryffindor robes.

People started to titter again and Harmony levelled the group with a pin sharp look, making them all fall quiet.

"In fact I would have to guess that all of you are labouring under similar misconceptions, since none of you are really wanting to play against him unless you have the safety net of your normal team. The facts such as they are, are simple however. I have been playing for The Bluebells since the age of thirteen and they have not lost a single match through anything other than forfeit since I became their captain at fourteen."

The red heads mouth dropped in obvious disbelief; a look that was echoed on more than a few of the other players faces. But she battled on regardless.

"I am used to winning, and while I cannot guarantee a win I will do everything in my power to secure you one. Krum may be famous but he _isn't_ unbeatable."

Harmony waited a few seconds for her words to be absorbed, before addressing the group for the final time, her hands coming to rest on her hips as she stared them down.

"I require two beaters and two chasers. I'm not bothered if it's the position you normally play, as long as you're decent I'll accept you. So which of you is going to join me?"

There was a long beat of silence, and for a moment she worried her hard sell had fallen flat. But before she could become disheartened a girl in hufflepuff robes spoke up.

"I will." The dark haired girl pushed herself to the front of the mass and introduced herself to Harmony. "I'm Chris winters, I'm normally the Hufflepuff seeker, but I'm a good chaser too."

Harmony smiled in relief and shook the girls hand. "Welcome to The Bluebells Chris."

"We'll come to."

A tall boy with an impressive set of braids shuffled forwards dragging his stocky auburn haired teammate behind him.

"I'm Matt and this is Jack." The dark boy gestured to his stocky friend. "We're the beaters for the Gryffindor team. You're right we'd rather play for you than sit on the side lines with our fingers up our arses."

Harmony's initial welcoming grin wavered slightly at the boys turn of phrase, but she welcomed the both of the to the team all the same.

The two boys went to stand next to Chris, while Harmony waited to see if she was going to gain another team member or be forced to play one short.

After several seconds a pale gangly girl in Slytherin robes stepped out of the mass of remaining players.

"I agree with Matt. I'd rather play for you than sit on the sidelines doing nothing. Name's Anna, I play chaser for Slytherin."

"That's my girl!"

Harmony wasn't given a chance to shake Anna's hand before the aforementioned Matt pulled the Slytherin chaser into a deep kiss.

A kiss he was subsequently slapped for.

It wasn't the opening Harmony was going to use to gain cohesion amongst the group, but it seemed to break any remaining ice nicely.

Even if one of her beaters did look like a kicked puppy for a good few minutes as his girlfriend ranted at him about uncouth displays of affection.

§¥§

Hermione was reaching the end of an enthralling chapter about how to imbue fire repelling runes into clothes, when someone sat next to her.

Glancing up from the text, she was surprised by two things. The stand that had been empty earlier was now nearly full to bursting and the person who'd taken the seat next to her was none other than Neville Longbottom.

She was quite surprised by how different the boy looked to when she'd last spoken to him. Gone was the puppy fat and in it's place was a more chiselled but still charmingly bashful appearance.

It was nice to see he still appeared to be the same soft-hearted boy he once was. He'd been one of the few students that hadn't taken part in the bullying that had forever surrounded her, though he hadn't spoken up on her behalf either.

Not that she blamed him for that of course. He'd had his own targets painted on his back, and it wouldn't have been right to have expected him to add to those, no matter how lonely she'd been.

Belatedly she realised the boy was talking to her and she shook her head slightly to try and rid herself of the memories of that horrible year.

"Sorry, could you repeat that?"

He turned red, his voice going from steady to stuttered. Proving she'd been right when she'd assumed he was still the same shy boy he'd always been.

"I..I don't know if you remember m-me. You used to help me in p-potions. I asked if you were friends with Hh-Harmony."

Neville began to fidget and Hermione gave him a fond smile.

"Of course I remember you Neville. You're not really a potions partner someone could easily forget. As for Harmony I'm her best friend. She mentioned helping you this morning."

The boy flushed such a deep shade of red he looked almost purple, but it didn't stop the hopeful look in his eyes. "She m-mentioned me."

Marking the place in her book she put it on the floor between her feet and gave Neville her full attention instead.

"Yes. She was rather wet when she got back to the carriage this morning, and when I asked where she'd been she said she'd been helping a nice boy with his plants."

"She c-called me nice!"

His voice rose so high it was like he'd suddenly inhaled helium. It appeared Harmony had captured herself another heart without meaning to. She might think she didn't turn heads, but she was simply oblivious to the effect she tended to have on those around her.

"She did and she was rather effusive about your plants to. She sounded particularly enamoured by your Novalunas."

Apparently mentioning the plants was the opening Neville needed. The stumbling bashful boy disappeared before her eyes and in his place was a happy confident young man you could tell absolutely adored his subject.

As the boy chattered Hermione lamented the fact that he was quite so... soft, he was never going to be someone who turned her friends head as anything other than a friend. Shame really they would've made a nice couple.

§¥§

Harmony was handing out strips of turquoise fabric to her newly acquired players when she felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Ready for taking off, da?"

Looking over her shoulder and passed the surly boy she could see the rejected rabble were sullenly shuffling off the pitch; dragging their brooms behind them despondently.

Some of the rejected mass were making their way up into the packed stands, apparently content to watch the game despite being unable to play. The rest were not quite so magnanimous in their rejection and they (most notably Hodge and the unknown redhead) stalked off the pitch towards the changing rooms apparently ready for a good sulk.

Turning her attention back on the Bulgarian Harmony gave the boy a half smile. "Ready as we'll ever be. Is someone refereeing this or are we refereeing ourselves?"

"I haf ask trainee flying instructor. He agree to referee." Krum pointed towards a tall classically handsome boy who was busy hauling locked quidditch chest onto the field.

Harmony wondered how the boy was classed as anything close to a teacher, he looked barely older than any of them. But his yellow edged teachers robes indicated he most certainly was a member of staff no matter how young he looked.

Apparently happy to have availed himself that she was indeed ready for take off, the duck footed boy shuffled off towards his teammates; leaving Harmony to address her own with one of her patented captains smiles.

"Right then guys, this is it. Try and remember the plays we discussed and don't forget what I said. Just because Krum's famous doesn't mean we can't win."

Emmaline and Cecilia gave her an enthusiastic thumbs up, while her temporary teammates donned grim, but determined smiles.

Not perhaps the zeal she was after, but beggars couldn't be choosers.

"Captains, in the middle please."

Giving her team one last look of encouragement she went to meet Krum and the instructor.

The flying instructor gave her a blinding smile that was all teeth as she approached the duo. Her keeper would've been in full swoon mode had she been near enough to see it.

The boy greeted her with a hand shake before getting down to business.

"Right then you two, this isn't an official game so lets try and keep it friendly."

He looked quite serious about this, as though the thought of any type of unsportsmanlike like conduct was deeply unsettling.

"Shake hands and we'll get this show on the road."

She held her hand out towards Krum, who immediately grasped it in a firm shake.

"Mount your brooms please."

Harmony flung her leg over the painted length of wood; kicking off the soft ground, and hoping like hell that her teammates temporary and otherwise were doing the same thing.

The bludgers went up followed by the snitch, which fluttered enticingly around her head before shooting away.

A whistle blew, the quaffle was released and the game began.

§¥§

Even from his seat Sirius could see the competitive but beatifically blissful look spreading over Harmony's face.

She and her teammates rose into the air, her Firebolt's specially painted handle gleaming iridescent purple in the autumn sun.

He may have bought her the broom some years before, and paid a pretty galleon for the paint job, but this would be the first time he'd get to see her fly it in a proper game and not just a simple throw around in the dens paddock.

He was almost vibrating out of his skin with anticipation.

The boy refereeing released the balls from their chest, before throwing the quaffle up into the tight scramble of players.

You couldn't make out who was who as the mass of teenagers coalesced into one single blob of colour.

It became quickly apparent that every one of the chasers wanted to be the one to make that first monumental goal and they weren't afraid to get their hands dirty.

A boy in Durmstrang robes tried to yank the quaffle away from a dark haired girl in turquoise, something she really didn't appreciate.

She kicked out at the boy's knee's in retaliation trying to make him back off but the action was in vain, her defence left her open and the quaffle was knocked from her arms by another one of Krum's chasers.

Sirius's eyes moved away from the scuffling chasers dutifully tracking the ascent of Krum and his goddaughter as they soared up through the melee. They both came to a stop a good twenty feet above the other players scanning the pitch for signs of the snitch.

Sirius glanced back at the other players as a few cheers went up around the pitch. One of Krum's men was headed for the goals, the quaffle secured under his arm.

Harmony's borrowed beater smacked a bludger at the blond boy, causing him to veer wildly of course; heading straight for the undressed stands at high speed.

He managed to pull himself to a stop before he could hit but the quaffle was lost as another bludger barely scraped by his elbow. The ball fell into the waiting arms of a girl in slytherin robes who'd been tailing the Bulgarian.

Abruptly pulling her broom about she headed towards the Durmstrang goals, mustering as much speed from her Cleansweep twelve as she could.

An almighty ding echoed around the pitch as the girl put the quaffle passed Krum's temporary keeper with ease.

His goddaughter suddenly dropped from the sky; Krum apparently thinking she'd seen something followed after her.

Sirius squinted at the pitch trying to see what his Kestrel could. She abruptly pulled out of her impressive dive, leisurely flying back to her previous position; once more gliding over the game that was happening below.

Krum glowered up at her, not at all pleased Harmony had tried to fool him.

She simply smirked at the scowling boy.

Krum pulled his broom heavenwards moving back and forth over the game, before suddenly dropping into a dive of his own.

Harmony followed, putting on a burst of speed as they hurtled closer to the ground.

The ding of another goal echoed around the pitch but Sirius had no idea by whom. At that moment he only had eyes for his goddaughter.

As they neared the grass Krum pulled up sharply, clearly hoping Harmony wouldn't notice and hit the dirt. But she was more nimble than the burly boy and managed to pull out of the dive with a barely discernable twitch of her tiny hands.

"Whoop, that's my Kestrel! Kick some ugly Bulgarian arse."

"Sirius!"

§¥§

Harmony swept her eyes around the pitch looking for that elusive speck that would end the game.

Baiting Krum may have been fun, but she was under no illusions that if the boy found the snitch first she had almost no chance of beating him.

She was contemplating trying another Wronski Feint when a glint of gold caught in her peripheral vision. Changing direction she went after it with all the speed she could muster from her broom.

Krum was gaining on her rapidly and she flattened herself against the handle of her Firebolt; willing it to move faster.

Their brooms were the same. If anything Harmony should've had the advantage being the smaller and lighter of the two. But her Firebolt was several years old and showing every inch of the love she'd given it over those years. Krum's on the other hand looked like it had just left the showroom.

It was like racing a banger against a Jaguar.

If Krum got the edge on her she could kiss her chances of winning goodbye.

The Bulgarians arm started to reach out in preparation of the final grab. But the snitch was not yet ready to be captured and dropped towards the drainage ditches that surrounded the edge of the pitch.

Her reflex's were apparently a little better than Krum's, because with barely a blink she had her broom pointed down and heading at high speed for the tangle of metal and wood that kept the stands upright.

Krum was scarcely a few seconds slower in changing direction, but it was enough to cause him to be the one playing catch up; his bigger size was going to be a severe hindrance where they were headed.

Swallowing hard Harmony was the first to enter the ditch.

As wood and metal flew passed her face, she sternly reminded herself that no matter how strong the temptation she could not shut her eyes.

§¥§

Hermione was never massively interested in quidditch as a whole, broody seekers and phenomenal friends notwithstanding.

But as Harmony dove into the ditch, with Krum nipping at her ankles, she could honestly say that she wouldn't have been able to look away from the game if she'd wanted to.

Not even if Draco Malfoy had run into the middle of the field wearing a pink dress and declaring he was going to turn Malfoy manor into a sanctuary for muggles.

Her mouth went dry and her heart felt like it was about to beat straight through her ribs as she watched her best friend, her sister in all but blood, weave through the tangled mass of supports.

Without conscious thought she blindly reached out to grab onto something, anything, to stop her falling over the railing, as she leaned over the edge of the stands to get a better look in the ditch.

The thing her hand grabbed grabbed back and she belatedly realised she'd grabbed hold of Neville.

This revelation barely registered in her stream of thought before it was swept away by something much more important: her friend suddenly shooting out of the tangled mess of supports like a bullet from a gun.

Krum was still hot on her tail, but falling behind slightly as Harmony's better momentum and lighter frame carried her higher into the air.

If she'd been able to hear anything over the heavy thump thud of her heart in her ears Hermione would've realised the stands around her had gone silent.

Everyone's attention riveted to the two seekers as the raced towards the proverbial finish line.

§¥§

Harmony ducked and weaved through the tangle of beams; focused on nothing but the enticing speck of gold mere meters in front of her face.

Flying through one particularly tight gap in the tangle of supports she felt the hairs on her face barely scraping passed the wood.

If the litany of what could only be Bulgarian curse words was anything to go by Krum had not been so lucky in getting through the tiny gap.

With Krum unable to overtake she could win, if only she could get her fingers around the tiny ball before it changed direction and left the tangled mass behind.

Apparently though the little sod had other ideas; swerving around a girder the ball shot vertical zooming straight for the clear open sky of the pitch above.

Swearing loudly Harmony gripped the handle of her baby more firmly and pulled up sharply. Barely missing braining herself on a metal brace as she shot out onto the pitch in hot pursuit of the golden bastard.

The world around her becoming nothing more than a blur of colour.

§¥§

Harmony hurtled out of the ditch and Remus felt like his heart was tangled in his teeth.

He'd often felt perturbed that he'd had to miss her in action at her school matches. But he could honestly say that if this was the way his pseudo goddaughter played during a friendly game, he was suddenly very glad he'd never managed to witness an official Bluebells match.

Krum shot out of the ditch after her, slightly behind but rapidly gaining speed now that he was on the open pitch.

A gasp rippled around the unusually quiet stands.

He willed Harmony to notice what everyone else had.

A bludger was heading straight for the oblivious pair and no one was going to be able to stop it.

§¥§

Her arm was starting to ache.

There was only so long she could control her broom one handed at such a high velocity and she was very quickly reaching her limit.

But she couldn't stop now.

Not when she was so close.

The wind whistled in her ears as the cool November sun glinted enticingly off the tiny gold ball that was in equal measures so close and so far.

Just a little further and the snitch would be hers.

A gasp rippled around the crowd breaking her concentration on the snitch. It didn't take a genius to see what had caused them exclaim.

A bludger was heading straight for them.

Not stopping to think she adjusted her broom, bringing the snitch just within reach.

Her fingertips skimmed over the golden metal.

Krum's did to.

The boy had snuck up underneath her trying to grab the snitch out from under her nose.

She pushed her arm out further, her shoulder almost wrenching from its socket as she reached beyond its limits.

Fingers brushed over fluttering wings.

The bludger was nearly upon them.

A hand closed around the humming object.

As an almighty crack rent the air.

Cradling her arm against her chest, she rapidly descended towards the pitch.

The stands were in uproar.

Her teammates, temporary and otherwise, were racing towards her at break neck speed.

She could just see Hermione rushing across the field, with Neville and her godfathers not far behind.

As she was engulfed in the mass of cheering; worried people, Harmony got a brief glimpse of Krum; gazing forlornly at the shattered handle of his Firebolt.

§¥§

Harmony was humming as she made her way through the dungeons towards her detention.

If anyone had been around to see her, and knew where she was going, she imagined they'd think her quite mad.

But she was simply to happy to let something as paltry as detention get her mood down for three very good reasons.

Firstly she'd won a quidditch match against Viktor Krum. A feat she was sure she would never to be able to repeat, since she had no intention of ever playing professional quidditch.

Secondly she'd not seen hide nor hair of Jackass Jame's all day.

And thirdly? Well thirdly both herself and Hermione were meeting the rest of the winning team, a very shy Neville and a still shoeless Luna in the kitchens for a celebratory party at midnight.

The team had been all set to get the party started when they'd finished in the showers, but after she'd explained to the rather hyper bunch that she'd have to leave before eight to get to her detention the plans had been hastily changed.

She'd had her doubts about being able to get into the kitchens at the time of night Matt and Jack had suggested, but they'd both been quick to reassure her there would be no issue getting in, just as long as she tickled the pear.

Whatever that meant.

So here she was heading down to her (unjust) detention, her mood happier than it had any right to be.

Hermione had left her at the top of the dungeons with concise instructions on how to reach the potions classrooms.

She'd offered to walk her straight there, but Harmony had waved her off. She knew full well she was chomping at the bit to start bugging Madam Pince into letting her remove a certain book from the restricted section. A book that even Remus had been unable to get passed the woman's claws.

Just before they'd parted ways Harmony had wished her luck. Secretly thinking if the librarians reputation was anything to go by Hermione was probably going to have a worse time time of it than she was with the dungeon bat.

Absently she held her hand up to the rough stone walls; letting her fingertips drag over the surface as she walked down through the chilly corridors that led to the deputy headmasters domain.

The dungeon corridors were a lot danker than their upper level predecessors. Harmony wasn't sure if this was because they were underground or if the famous founder who'd built them had made them deliberately inhospitable.

Either way she found them thrillingly creepy and would've loved to have spent endless hours getting lost in dark damp corners, and the seemingly never ending corridors that echoed with the phantom drip drip of water on stone, but her detention meant that the exploration would need to wait until she had such time as to do it justice.

Eventually her friends directions led her to a bank of doors.

Smoothing the front of her shirt, she took a deep breath and did her best to rid herself of the relaxed, anticipatory smile dallying around her lips.

She was under no illusions about the reception she'd receive if the crotchety professor saw she'd turned up to her detention wearing a smile.

Clearing her throat, and hoping like hell her face was as devoid of any type of emotion that could be interpreted as happy, she raised her hand and knocked soundly on the thick door.

The expected low drawl of the deputy headmaster didn't come.

No voice came from the classroom at all.

Was she in the wrong place?

Frowning Harmony reached into her pocket and retrieved the crumpled detention note; squinting at the chicken scratch scrawl in the low light.

_Miss Potter._

_I have been given the unhappy task of trying to make you see the error of your ways. _

_You are to come to potions classroom two at Eight o'clock sharp, tonight and every other night for the next two months. _

_Professor S Snape. _

A quick glance at the door confirmed that it was marked with an ornate silver two. She was definitely in the right place, and she knew she wasn't early.

If anything she was probably slightly late.

Perhaps the dour man simply hadn't heard her.

Shoving the note back in her pocket she pushed against the door, testing to see if it was open, surprisingly it swung inwards on silent hinges revealing an empty classroom beyond.

"Just great." Her aggravated exclamation echoed along the deserted corridor. "I turn up for the ruddy detention and the bloody professor doesn't."

She was sorely tempted to skive off the detention and go and help Hermione slay the beast of books instead, but the thought was a fleeting thing and died as quickly as it came.

After all she had no way of knowing if the professor may still turn up.

It was quite possible this was some sort of test and she had no desire to add to the her detention time if she could help it. If they discovered she hadn't turned up voluntarily they may well take a leaf out of Maxime's book; forcing her attendance through one of the various means the woman had perfected over her tenure as headmistress.

The Geasan might protect her from being sent away, but it held no sway over the machinations of crotchety professors and bitchy headmistresses. So as much as it galled her she really had no choice but to stay put.

Grumbling under her breath, she stalked into the dank classroom; letting the door close behind her with a heavy bang.

The room, much like the corridors, was in desperate need of some extra lighting. Though unlike the corridors the place was fastidiously clean, there wasn't a spec of dirt anywhere.

Infact the only things in the room that spoiled this pristine, almost unlived in image, were the cobwebs that were strategically placed in the corners and a pile of notably used potions equipment that was stacked in a neat pile next to the stone sink.

Whether either of these were down to student hands or that of the teacher who dwelled there Harmony wasn't sure, but she knew for certain the cobwebs were magical decorations as opposed to the real thing.

She'd strewn more than her fair share of them around Beauxbatons in her time, and although they always looked incredibly realistic the fakes always held a slight shimmer that the real thing lacked.

A snoop around the room proved that the only thing that was going to be able to offer her any form of entertainment while she waited for the professor to show his sallow face, was the pile of aforementioned dirty equipment.

With a sigh of resignation she filled the sink with soapy water, rolled up her sleeves, and set to work.

She was polishing the last of the copper plated knives, when a smell, not unlike a mix of burning hair and three week old manure, hit her nostrils.

"Uggh."

Placing the knife down on the edge of the sink, she hastily covered her nose and mouth; setting about finding the source of the atrocious smell.

The closer she got to the other side of the room, the worse the smell became until she came face to face with a door hidden in the shadows behind the professors desk.

The stench was nearly overwhelming here and logic dictated that whatever was causing the smell was behind it.

For a moment she debated whether or not she should open it, but she couldn't remain in the classroom with the foul stink and she still wasn't really any more able to leave than she had been half an hour ago.

Taking her courage, and stupidity, into her hands she took a deep breath and held it before pushing at the latch that was holding the door closed; stepping into the unknown.

It was hard to believe it was possible, but the stench was actually even more potent in person. The air was so thick with acidic mustard yellow smoke she could barely discern the cauldron the smog was emanating from.

Disregarding the hazards she moved further into the room, quickly pulling her wand and flicking it in the direction of the cauldron; extinguishing the low burning flame the was helping create the mass of pungent clouds.

"Novrum."

It didn't take her many seconds to realise how much of a twit she'd been to speak the dissipation spell, without first casting a wandless bubble head charm over her nose and mouth. The acrid smoke burned her lungs and throat as she was forced to inhale it and she began to cough violently.

As she hacked up what felt like the entire lining of her lungs Harmony wondered why she'd thought simply holding her breath was going to suffice in the first place. But that was the story of her life wasn't it? She never thought things through no matter how dangerous the situation.

She was much more of a: just do it and deal with the consequences later type person. It drove Hermione quite mad at times.

The smog finally cleared allowing her to take in a deep lungful of clean air. Her throat felt stripped and the stench lingered at the back of her nose like a bad cold, but she was simply glad she could breath again.

Wiping her streaming eyes she went to inspect the cauldron that had caused all the problem in the first place, looking inside the half melted pewter pot she found the interior was covered in a thick layer of gritty rust coloured sludge with a glass stirrer sticking out of it.

She attempted to remove it from the cauldron to get a closer look at the gunk but either the rod had melted along with the pot or it was simply stuck fast by the thick crud. Because tugging on it nearly upended the cauldron and the remaining 'potion' over her boots.

Shaking her head at the sorry state of affairs Harmony flicked her wand at the mess and muttered a quick Evanesco.

The whole lot was a right off and although it was clear the cauldron had once been one of good quality she gave no second thought to vanishing it, it's contents and the small puddle of sludge that was steadily eating it's way through the flagstones.

She was unsure what exactly had made Snape absent for the start of her detention or serious enough that he'd left his work unattended without a stasis charm, but whatever it was the professor was very lucky that the only things damaged had been his cauldron and a stirrer.

She ran her fingers gently along the edge of the workbench; taking a gander at the various ingredients the man had left scatted over it's surface.

From what she could tell they appeared to be the components for a fairly familiar headache draught.

If she was right the potion was not one of great complexity. But it was one notorious for being unstable at various stages of it's brewing process and even once brewed it still required delicate handling.

Meaning it wasn't a good candidate for mass production and was unlikely to be found on the local apothecaries shelves.

However most competent home brewers and professional potioners were happy to take the risk of creating and storing small stocks for personal use, as it was a draught that was guaranteed to give the drinker a few blissful hours pain free no matter how severe the headache.

Coming to a stop near the far end of the worktable she tapped her fingers lightly against the cool marble top; contemplating the items in front of her, eventually she came to a decision.

Heading into the classroom she grabbed the pile of newly washed equipment and a clean student cauldron from the stack next to the sink before hauling it all into the professors private lab.

Grabbing a rag she wiped the inside of the cauldron before placing it on a stand next to the workbench. Grabbing the Shungite decanter she tipped it over the pewter pot half filling it with purified water.

With a subtle flick of her wand she ignited a low flame beneath the student cauldron.

Satisfied the water was gently heating, she removed the bobble from her wrist and scraped her long hair up into a messy ponytail before beginning to shred a small pile of Butterbur.

She couldn't see any harm in re-making Snape's ruined potion, it wasn't like she had anything better to do and it might be a nice way of thanking the man for making the Mallenio salve...well that and it was clearly something the man was in desperate need of.

Circe knew the deputy headmaster had sounded like a bear with a sore head every time she'd heard him open his mouth.

§¥§

Severus stormed towards his classroom; his footsteps echoing angrily off the damp stone walls and his face like thunder.

Two bloody hours he'd been stuck dealing with the persnickety little buggers he was forced to call his students.

It was all his godsons fault, he'd called the Clarke girl a mudblood again and she'd, rightfully, turned him into a ferret for his troubles.

To be frank the incident wouldn't have been something he would've intervened in whether he'd born witness to it or not, they were both members of his house after all and a few hours as a ferret might have actually taught the boy not to keep spouting off.

Unfortunately he wasn't given the chance to live in blissful ignorance; Draco's followers had quickly come to fetch him when a couple of Gryffindors had decided it would be a good laugh to bounce the transfigured boy around the top most level of the dungeons like he was some sort of muggle ball.

What exactly the two trouble makers had been doing hanging around the dungeons in the first place he had no idea. All he knew was his students had been so insistent that he come to save their friend he'd been given barely enough time to erect a basic stasis charm over his headache draught.

A charm that would've been perfectly adequate if Draco had not pestered him insistently to contact his parents, because much to the boys disgust Minerva had issued him (post ferret) with the same two week detention she'd issued to the other three involved.

In an attempt to get the boy to go away, he'd gladly taken him up to his rarely used office and contacted the Malfoy's only for his plan to backfire.

Narcissa had been justly appalled when Draco had told her what had transpired, and Severus had thought he could slink off while she consoled her son.

But just as he was about to disappear the woman had emerged from the flames with all the inherent grace of an aristo, and started demanding explanations for why the others had not been more severely punished and why her poor dear innocent dragon had been punished at all.

Suffice it to say he was forced in to rehashing what he knew of the incident and trying to explain (without it looking like he was siding with the Gryffindor administration) that there really was nothing he could do about her sons punishment. When all he'd really wanted to do was not so politely tell her to bugger off and take her dolt of a son with her.

Though if he was completely honest with himself there was very little chance of such a scenario ever taking place.

To put it bluntly Narcissa Malfoy was not a woman you told to bugger off whatever the circumstance. Saying such things to her would be the equivalent of asking her to serve your balls in sauce bearnaise the next time she held a dinner party.

So here he was stalking towards his classroom knowing there was a good chance the charm over his cauldron had already degraded.

Salazar only knew what state his lab would be in. Though thankfully the room had enough permanent wards carved into the walls that any spills would be prevented from contaminating his storeroom.

Then of course there was the Potter girl to consider.

Her detention time had long since passed him by. She'd likely scarpered some time ago...if she'd even bothered to turn up at all.

Opening his classroom door he was expecting to be greeted by an atrocious smell, the one thing his wards wouldn't be able to stop in the event of an accident; indeed the room did smell but the stench was not as potent as I should've been had his stasis charm long since disintegrated.

There was a slim chance his potion might yet be saved.

Stalking towards his lab he placed a bubble head charm over his face; flinging the door open.

"Fuck!"

He'd been expecting clouds of acidic smoke from his quickly deteriorating headache draught or perhaps even a melted cauldron. Instead of this scene of horror, he found something almost infinitely worse. Sat at his workbench, using his tools and looking a damn sight more comfortable than she had any right to was the Potter girl.

§¥§

Harmony was cutting pickled willow into thin strips when the lab door was unceremoniously flung open; making her jump.

The sharp knife slipped; slicing open the top of her hand like a spoon through warm butter.

"Fuck!"

The knife dropped to the marble worktop with a clatter.

Pulling her hand towards herself she grabbed a discarded rag; wrapping the wounded appendage before any stray droplets of blood could contaminate the various unprotected ingredients.

Glaring towards the door she found the source of the unexpected interruption was none other than the deputy headmaster.

Snape looked livid, unfortunately so was she.

"What the hell do you think you're doing! Banging in here like that! I could've hacked off a fucking finger."

"What _I_ am doing Miss Potter. Is walking into my private lab expecting it to be as I left it, only to find an impudent little brat has decided to try her hand at playing potion master. What exactly do you think _you_ are doing other than butchering expensive ingredients."

Harmony scoffed, the most expensive thing on the bench didn't cost more than a galleon a pound.

Unfortunately she had no time to point this out to the man, her potion was turning yellow; she needed to add the strips of bark if neither of them wanted a face full of rancid liquid.

Wrapping the rag more securely around her hand, she checked to make sure nothing had dripped on the piece of bark before picking up a clean knife and resuming her neat strips.

Evidently the professor did not appreciate the thought of her ignoring his ire and he marched forwards the loom over her.

"Miss Potter-"

"I am not ignoring you." She cut him off before he could air the grievance on the tip of his tongue.

"I really shouldn't need to explain this, but since you are apparently a man who does not recognise the sheer dimwittedness of walking away from such a volatile potion. I will be blunt, if I do not get this bark into that cauldron in the next thirty seconds the both of us will end up covered in boiling potion."

She had no idea if her words had had any impact on the dour man. But she had more important things to worry about, dropping the knife she gently scooped up the handful of near see through strips and scattered them evenly over the top of the frothing yellow liquid; diligently stirring the mixture one half turn clockwise and three full turns counter-clockwise

Tapping the glass rod lightly against the rim of the cauldron she couldn't help the feeling of immense satisfaction as the potion went from sickly yellow to bright poppy red.

With the potion once more stable for a small window of time she chanced a glance at the surly professor, only to find the man had focused his ire on something else; his intense dark eyes were locked on the little pewter cauldron. She was honestly surprised he hadn't managed to melt it with the look alone.

"This is a student cauldron."

"Oh well spotted." Harmony said sardonically.

The dark eyed ire turned away from the cauldron and landed directly on her.

"What have you done with the one I left here?"

Harmony crossed her arms over her chest staring the man down. "Vanished it."

She was fairly certain this was not the right thing to say to the already incensed man.

She'd never seen someone go from pale to puce in such a short amount of time.

"Vanished!"

He took a step closer, one of his hands clenching over his wand and looking like he wanted to hex her… or wring her neck. She supposed if she wanted to be gracious she couldn't really blame him for being pissed, she'd been more than aware the cauldron had been one of good quality but there was simply nothing that could've been done to salvage it.

"-was a masters grade cauldron you stupid girl. Is your apparently tiny brain unable to comprehend how expensive they are! Or perhaps you think that because you are a Potter and a champion to boot you should be given the right to destroy peoples possessions with impunity! You're no different to your pathetic father. He never cared if things belonged to him either, just as long as he could destroy them!"

She'd been grudgingly resigned to taking the mans ire over his vanished cauldron, but she was not going to sit here and accept being compared to that detestable man when she was not the one who'd caused the problem in the first place.

Slamming her hands down on the workbench, she rose from her stool and glared up at the enraged professor.

"I am nothing like James sodding Potter!" She honestly felt like cursing him for the comparison alone.

"Yes I vanished your precious cauldron, but you know why I did? Because the fucking tit who is supposedly a world renowned potions master, hasn't got enough of a brain to place a fucking stasis charm over his work before he fucks off to Circe knows where. That cauldron was a right off and Evanesco was the only feasible option for the thing. No amount of elbow grease or magical mess remover was going to save it. Frankly you're fucking lucky to still have a lab. The fumes in here alone were so pissing thick I could hardly breath-"

Snape growled low in the back of his throat, cutting her off with a snarl as he finally managed to get a word in edgeways.

"And just what were you doing in here, you insolent brat, to be subjected to those fumes in the first place. I do not recall detailing in your detention note that you should feel free to go poking around in my private lab should I not be here when you arrived!"

Harmony's clenched her jaw as her glare levelled up several notches, not that it seemed to have any discernable effect on the sneering professor.

"I didn't go poking around. I was washing the dirty equipment when the smell started to seep into the classroom. What else was I supposed to do other than try and find it's source!"

Snape growled again baring his coffee stained teeth. "You were supposed to mind your own bloody business you impertinent twit. If the smell was to overwhelming for your apparently delicate senses then you should've left!"

Harmony scoffed acidly as she picked up the pestle and mortar in front of her.

She needed to get the dried vulture brains powdered and ready to go in to the cauldron.

Otherwise all her work would go to waste.

"Yeah as if that was a fucking option. You'd have tracked me down and made me do something gross like scrub the toilets with my toothbrush if you'd found I wasn't here."

Harmony glared down at the dried brains, imagining them to be Snape's face with ever bash of the pestle.

"Trust me Miss Potter, after this incident I will do everything in my considerable power to make your remaining detentions miserably disgusting."

She looked up, only to find his face mere inches from hers, his eyes glittering with the untold menace of all the things he could inflict on her in the name of detention.

"I do not take lightly the actions of ignorant brats with more ego than brain playing around in my private lab; destroying my ingredients and equipment in some botched attempt at creating something that is more likely to kill than to cure."

She'd heard enough and slammed the pestle down on the marble worktop making the glass jars rattle alarmingly.

"You know what fuck it." She shoved the mortar of vulture brains into the mans chest, making him stumble back a step with the force of it.

"I found a mess that needed removing and I tried to help by making another batch of the potion you clearly needed. Morgana knows you sound like a troll with a sore head every time I've been near you."

Her hand balled into an indignant fist causing her sliced skin to leak under the cover of the dusty rag.

"I simply thought it was a nice thing, and more importantly the right thing to do. But you're apparently to much of an acrimonious arse to accept someone's help at face a value."

Shoving passed the man she stalked towards the lab door.

"Finish your own ruddy potion. I'm going to deal with the hand you made me slice open with your apparent propensity for interrupting people when they're in the middle of something important."

§¥§

Potter stormed out of the lab, slamming the door behind her.

Severus sneered down at the mortar in his hands, if the girl seriously thought her pitiful attempts at brewing were going to help him she was delusional.

As if a seventeen year old would be competent enough to brew this particular draught, even he hadn't managed it with any decency until he was in his first year of apprenticeship.

For a moment he debated vanishing the lot and starting again in the morning, but the brains were already partly crushed and the rest of the potion, such as it was, was already complete.

It would not do to waste yet another batch of ingredients due to the girls inability to keep her hands to herself.

No, as long as Potter's mistakes hadn't been to heinous he would be able to correct it enough to make it passable.

At which point he could send it up to the hospital wing.

Given that it would need to be botched to make it adequate for use, it would not keep well or work as satisfactorily as on of his normal batches. But it would suffice until he had time to make another batch.

It was doubtful any one would be in need of it between now and the end of the week anyway.

With one final stir he waited to see how much work he would have to do to correct the little brats woeful efforts.

Large bubbles began to build on the surface and the potions gurgled ominously.

Thinking the whole lot was about to blow, he readied himself to vanish the liquid. But the gurgling suddenly stopped and the potion went still, turning a brilliant shade of mint green, before releasing a smell that was a cross between vinegar and violets.

He flicked his wand at the pot extinguishing the flame.

The potion was perfect.

If anything the mix looked almost better brewed than even he usually managed.

Walking into his storeroom he grabbed a box of glass vials; feeling his often dormant conscience give an uncomfortable lurch.

Dropping the crate on the bench more roughly than he'd intended, he considered this unwelcome sensation.

Why should his conscience decide that he needed to feel guilty for belittling the Potter girls efforts?

She was a nosey little brat who'd vanished his cauldron, he should not be feeling remorse for ripping into her, after all it was likely only pure luck that the potion had turned out correctly.

He should be issuing her with another weeks worth of detention for her sheer brazenness, before going about the remainder of his evening in his normal ignominious bastard manner.

He rubbed a hand over his face; the Hufflepuff in his head unhelpfully reminding him that she'd only been trying to help and that he'd already known that the cauldron was likely to be a right off when he got back.

Did it really matter if she was the one to vanish it instead of him?

The thing that mattered, his inner Slytherin sneered, was the principal of the thing.

If he vanished his possessions it was his right to do so, the key point being they belonged to him… and yet that thought did not stop him from feeling like a complete arse.

Likely the only thing that would stop that would be if he apologised.

A thought so distasteful that he actually grimaced as he picked up a ladle and started to decant the steaming liquid in the oxidised bottles.

Apologising went against everything in his nature and grated at the grain of his soul.

It was simply not something he did. Ever.

That wasn't to say he'd never sort redemption for the many and varied atrocities he'd committed in his time, but he'd never actively sort it from those he'd wronged.

Any instances of such wrong doing were quickly locked away in his subconsciousness; trapped in the dark until such time he could either sooth his dark soul with the knowledge he'd done something to repay them, or finally dismiss them as a collateral of life.

So why was it this minor grievance was causing pangs conscience, instead of simply sinking into the abyss with the rest.

Perhaps it was the knowledge that this unknown girl, someone who knew nothing of him good or bad, nor owed him any type of debt, had tried to help him simply because she'd wanted to.

It was a sad thought that it was an occurrence of such rarity in his life, he simply could not remember the last time something of a similar ilk had occurred.

He finished placing the filled vials back into the wooden crate.

Keeping a bottle back for himself, he picked up the rest and walked the crate over to the floo; sending them up to a grateful Poppy.

Scrubbing a weary hand down his face he pocketed the potion and waved his wand at the dirty equipment, watching as it dutifully stacked itself against the sink.

It had been a long night and he was longing for a shot of gin and his soft bed.

Walking down the chilly corridor towards his chamber, he contemplated the situation he'd found himself in. He was in no doubt that he would need to apologise or at the very least provide some form of restitution to the girl if he wanted his conscience to stop tugging at him.

The question was what?

Whatever it was he'd have to do it in such a way that it would not appear to be an apology.

He had a reputation to maintain after all.

**ӜӜӜ**

**Hope you enjoyed that, and if anyone if wondering about how Beauxbatons plays quidditch without houses I have figured out a system. **

**So first off we have the Bluebells. The schools all girl team.**

**Second we have the Bulls. The schools all male team**

**Third we have the Bumbles. One of the schools two mixed sex teams**

**Fourth the Bears. Also a mixed sex team but notorious for the amount of violence they can bring to a match. **

**Essentially the system of play is the same as the four Hogwarts teams. They play against each other through out the year with the goal of winning a trophy at the end.**

**Except in Beauxbatons case the four teams are playing for the chance to lay claim to the crystal papillon instead of the house cup.**

**Since Beauxbatons is not divided into houses the system of selection is a little different. Anyone thirteen or over can try out for any three of the four teams. **

**.i.e. both of the mixed and one of the same sex.**

**Essentially all students get three bites of the apple as it were as opposed to a Hogwarts student who gets one.**

**The captain's are elected by the team and not anyone in the administration. **

**(A good thing really I can't see Maxime giving Harmony a captains badge :p )**

**Once a captain has been elected the only way to remove them is through team vote, their own desire to pass on the role or they graduate. **

**All other players must try out for their positions on a yearly basis to ensure the teams contain only the best players. **

***Shifts eyes***

**So yeah.**

**This is the type of shit my brain comes up with when I'm sleep deprived. But it is what it is, I hope this helped anyone who wanted to know about the Beauxbatons teams. Though any other mention of them is likely to be slim to nil. **

**And if you had no desire for this information whatsoever please feel free to ignore it. ;)**

**P.s Gross but true Medieval doctors really did prescribe vulture brains for a headache... though they told people to insert them up their nose instead of drink them in a potion. But whatever gets the job done I suppose. :P **

**And if you want to see a drawing of Harmony quidditch training gear there's an image of the bluebells uniform at the end of chapter 14 on Ao3. Simply google Out of sight Ao3 Pinkwar and you'll find it. **

**And for anyone looking for some hardcore Snarry fluff, check out Who needs birthday wishes. My latest stand alone one shot to the when Snakes fall verse**

**Thanks for reading, sorry for the long AN and I'll see y'all soon. **

**Pink X (^^)**


	15. Friends old and new

**I'MMMMM BACKKKKK! *que people running for the hills***

**Well this has been a long time coming hasn't it? when was the last time I updated middle of may?**

**But my wrist and all its attachments are healed up so you lovely people finally get a new chapter.**

**I would also like to give a huge thank you to everyone who left me well wishes and advice. They were all really appreciated and more than a few of them really lifted my spirits when I was feeling a little bit sorry for myself. **

**So virtual hugs, cake and a very cuddly padfoot to everyone.**

**And so onto the main event, Enjoy!**

Harmony stalked along the dank corridors, her mood considerably darker than it had been on her trip through them earlier in the evening.

She knew she'd lost her cool more than was probably wise, or indeed proper, when her free time was essentially in Snape's hands for the next two months, but she simply hadn't been able to help herself.

The man was an arse.

She'd only been trying to help, there was no need for him to have ripped into her like she was a vacuous first year.

And her hand was stinging like a bugger.

Bringing the wrapped appendage towards her face she could see a slight darkening of the cream coloured cloth. She really needed to go back to the carriage so she could clean it and apply one of her salves.

A quick glance at her watch told her it was already well after elven; she'd be needing to drag herself all the way back down into the dungeons as soon as she'd sorted herself out, and at that moment she simply couldn't abhor the thought of racing around to end right back where she already was.

She could of course make her excuses the next day and just stay at the carriage once she got there, but the thought of missing the get together was just as horrid as the thought of racing around.

The last time she'd truly let her hair down had been at the very end of her sixth year and she'd be damned if Snape was going to ruin her planned night of fun.

She poked at the bandage with a deep sigh of resignation; she'd simply have to clean it in the kitchens and apply some salve later.

Seeing the entrance to the dungeons up ahead she doubled back on herself; taking the opposite corridor.

According to the two Gryffindor jokers as long as she took a left at the dungeons entrance instead of a right she'd eventually find the kitchens; the door of which was hidden behind a specific painting, as frankly seemed to be the case with much of the school, and wasn't far from the Hufflepuff common room; a direction that was about as helpful to her as saying it was situated next one of Matthew's aunts socks.

Along with the rather cryptic message to tickle the pear it was the limit of the information the cheeky buggers had been willing to give herself and Hermione.

Eventually the boys directions found her in a wide warmly lit corridor covered top to bottom in food themed paintings. She let her eyes wander over the various pictures until she came to a stop in front of a still life the size of a large door.

For several long moments she stood staring up at the silver fruit bowl, debating with herself whether or not the beaters had been taking the piss when they'd, rather gleefully, told her to a tickle a piece of painted fruit.

Chewing slightly on her lip she reached forwards; running her fingers delicately over the stones at the side of the picture frame. She could feel the definite indent of a door edge...and yet there appeared to be no obvious way to open it.

Feeling incredibly silly, but seeing no other choice, she tentatively placed her fingers against the oil paint; tickling the fat green pear that took up a good portion of the lower left side of the canvas. The ripe fruit giggled and squirmed under her questing fingers, causing a small smile to flicker over her lips as the tittering pear turned in to a large green handle.

Wrapping her fingers around it she tugged the painting open; revealing the vaulted room beyond.

For several long moments she simply stood staring, she'd never seen so many elves all in one place...not even Beauxbatons housed this many of the creatures.

Most of them were busying themselves around four long tables, while the rest were preoccupied with cleaning, or tending to the various copper pots sat over the roaring fire.

They were busy enough that only the ones closest to the door had noticed her arrival, and they were now gazing at her expectantly with their large round eyes. Clearing her throat slightly she went to ask if they could give her something to clean her hand, when a happy shout of her name echoed around the cavernous room.

"Mistress Harmy you has gotten so big!"

A small creature was hurtling towards her with all the speed it's legs could muster...even as the other elves looked on in consternation.

"Mary? What on earth are you doing in the Hogwarts kitchens?"

The violet eyed elf had looked seconds away from throwing herself at Harmony's legs, but her enquiry had the elf stopping abruptly. Harmony watched intrigued, and with more than a little concern, as Mary all but caved in under the weight of her innocent question.

"Master Jamie be bringing me with him when he send yous to French school away from Potter ancestors. I keeps asking when yous be coming back, and why hes has to send you away to nasty foreign place away from me."

The other elves in the room looked like she'd said something crude at the mention of questioning her masters actions, and they averted their eyes away from Mary and back to the tasks in front of them.

"He gots very angry when I not stop, and he gave me clothes. He was right to do it young mistress. Mary was very bad elf for questioning master."

Mary started unconsciously twisting the 'gifted' clothes between her fingers.

Even after what the elf had said it still came as something as shock when Harmony's eyes landed not on the elf's once customary tunic with the baroque embroidered P, or even on the tea towel uniforms of the other Hogwarts elves. But on a smart pale blue dress, embellished with hundreds of tiny golden snitches.

It was a dress that looked achingly familiar.

James had given Harmony that dress on her fifth birthday. It'd been wrapped in Appleby Arrows paper and addressed to his golden girl.

She'd wanted to wear nothing else for months after she'd received it.

Harmony rubbed at her temples as an onslaught of unwelcome memories tried to force their way up.

"You weren't a bad elf Mary." She stated tiredly in an attempt to sooth the creature. "James is simply a bastard."

Mary gasped; tugging on her ear in distress.

"Mistress Harmy should not be saying such things about her papa. Master Jamie be beings in a bad way. He's be needing help young mistress, but is not Mary's place to say. Master Monty and Mistress Mina would be so very upset with Mary for not taking good care of the young master. I has failed in my duties."

Harmony shook her head.

Mary was the closest thing she'd had to a mother growing up, but even when James had abandoned them both without explanation the elf had remained a staunch believer that nothing bad should be said about the man.

Sadly it appeared not even disownment had removed Mary's intrinsic loyalty to the head of the Potter estate.

Not that that was the elf's fault.

Mary was the last in a long line of Potter elves. Elves that'd been taught for centuries, from cradle to grave, that their life's purpose was to serve and obey the Potters; no matter what circumstance should come their way.

That type of thing didn't stop being inherent just because their owner had decided to be a dick and get rid of them.

The poor creature looked distraught at the thought of her failures, and Harmony just didn't have the heart to upset her further by trying to press her point.

Perhaps given time she could help Mary realise that James was the one in the wrong, not her.

It was unlikely, but poor odds had never stopped her yet.

In an effort to move the subject away from the bastard she'd rather not think about, Harmony enquired about the thing she'd wanted in the first place.

"Would it be possible to get something to clean my hand with please? I cut it with my potions knife."

Mary released her ears; a look of chiding, motherly dismay coming to rest on her wrinkled face.

"Mistress Harmy. I hoped yous would be less clumsy once yous a lady. Come with Mary mistress, and I's be seeing to it."

The elf held out a hand and Harmony was vividly reminded of all the times that Mary had made similar gestures during her childhood.

Though she was gratified to note that she was at least taller than she had been the last time this had occurred.

Huffing out a half laugh she permitted Mary to wrap her long fingers around her uninjured hand; allowing the elf to gently tug her over to the large porcelain sinks resting at the other end of the room.

The other elves moved out of the way as they approached, though one broke ranks; stepping towards them with a white bowl and a clean rag.

Mary was applying some sort of salve to her hand, apparently she wasn't willing to trust Harmony's own would do the job, and a fresh bandage to the cleaned cut when the wall on the other side of the room opened.

Looking over Harmony giggled as several of the people she was waiting for stumbled through the door; landing in a heap atop the crate of bottles they'd brought with them.

It was time to get the party started.

§¥§

Harmony guffawed; nearly inhaling her shot of fire whisky.

"No way! you turned him into a ferret!"

Anna sniffed delicately, taking a more dignified pull on her own drink.

"Well to be frank he looks and acts like one. I honestly don't think anyone would've noticed the difference if Matt hadn't thought it'd be a good idea to bounce him around the dungeons. He's such an idiot."

As one the girls looked over at the opposite table, where several elves were busy trying to clean copious amounts of cold porridge out of said boys braids.

Harmony had warned him not to try tipping that pot over her head.

Shame he hadn't listened.

"I know Malfoy's atrocious, but what did he say that deserved being turned into a ferret?" Hermione asked, taking a sip of her red wine.

The Slytherin grimaced as she started picking at her bottle label, "Just the usual. Apparently calling someone a mudblood every other day for six years never looses its appeal to simple minded pricks."

Hermione frowned, "why is he calling you a Mudblood?"

"Believe it or not Granger, you're not special. Plenty of people get bullied for their blood status in this school." Anna replied a hint of condescension entering her voice, as if she thought Hermione was being particularly thick headed.

"That wasn't what I meant," Hermione swayed slightly as she placed her wine glass down on the table, "what I meant was you're a Slytherin!-"

Her friend sounded so wonderfully theatric, that Harmony knew it wouldn't be long before the alcohol would have Hermione demanding some sort of juvenile party game and falling about in endless fits of giggles.

No one would believe the complete one eighty her friends personality took when she'd had a few drinks, frankly she wouldn't either had she never been there to see it.

Completely unaware of her friends contemplations, Hermione had continued her reasoning as to why Anna couldn't possibly be a Slytherin.

"-Slytherins are supposed to be pure and poncey and...and pointy! You...you're none of those things! How in Morgana's name did you end up in the snake pit."

Harmony wondered if she should confiscate the rest of Hermione's wine before she got to far down the rabbit hole...but that might be just a touch hypocritical of her considering she was fairly loose limbed herself by this stage.

"I'm in the snake pit as you so eloquently put it," Anna stated rolling her eyes in response to Hermione's less than subtle stereotyping, "because I was the dolt who asked to be put there. It's that stupid hats fault, the song said Slytherin was the house where you'd find your real friends; so when that mouldy old piece of leather was placed on my head I damn near begged the thing to put me there. _It_ wanted to put me in Ravenclaw but I wouldn't have it and it reluctantly agreed."

She snorted acidly.

"Soon found out why it was so ruddy reluctant though didn't I? It might've kept telling me I'd be better in one of the other houses, but the one thing it failed to tell me, the one thing that might just have changed my mind, was that the house I'd chosen was half full of blood suprematists and the sheep who wish to follow them…didn't get that particular nugget of information until I got up to the dorms and found myself sharing a space with three girls who looked at me like I was a walking dog turd."

"That sounds horrid. You're not still sharing a room with those girls..are you?" Asked Hermione.

Anna shook her head, "No, when I came back for second year the dorms had been changed and I was in a twin with Aster. We didn't get on too well to begin with, mostly thanks to her older sister whispering things in her ear, but we muddled through in the end. She's one of my best friends now, even if we still periodically hex each other."

"If you share a room won't she wonder where you've gone?" Enquired Harmony as she poured a dash more whisky into her glass.

"Doubt it. She's off doing Salazar only knows what with Blaise; since those two started sucking face she's rarely in our room at night. I really don't think she'd notice if I disappeared for a few days let alone a few hours."

Harmony nodded in understanding, she'd seen Cecilia in enough hormone fuelled trances to know what Anna was getting at.

The three lapsed into companionable silence; the sounds of the others in the room chatting, and in one case arguing, wrapping around Harmony like a warm blanket on a cold day.

"Fancy a game of truth or dare?" Hermione asked after a little while, jostling Harmony as she made a grab for the beer bottle clasped in Anna's slack fingers.

The Slytherin chaser grimaced at the suggestion, clearly far from enthused at the thought of taking part in any sort of game...much less truth or dare. But Hermione either didn't notice the girls reluctance or simply didn't care, because she'd wandered off before Anna could answer her.

Harmony watched with fond amusement as Hermione started to clear space for a game no one, not just Anna, was likely to be interested in playing...well not while most of them were still the wrong side of sober anyway.

Give it an hour or two and she'd probably have plenty of takers.

Anna puffed a fine lock of blond hair out of her face as she turned towards Harmony.

"Is she always like this?"

"Pretty much."

Hermione let out an exalted screech as she levitated a large sack of flour out of her 'game area'. But the bag didn't stay aloft for long and it landed next to one of the tables in a cloud of fine white powder.

"But to be honest I wouldn't have her any other way." Harmony stated, looking on indulgently as Hermione glanced between her wand and the sack thoroughly confused.

Music began to thump around the cavernous room, drawing her attention away from her flour dusted friend and towards Emmaline and Chris who were duking it out next to the record player they'd set up near the entrance...the same thing they'd been doing for close to an hour.

By the sound of it Chris had gained the upper hand for the moment. She'd been the one to suggest the album that was currently blasting, while Emmaline had wanted something that was decidedly more 1980's muggle than the weird sisters latest.

Cecilia came bounding towards them like an oversized puppy, a large grin dissecting her rosy cheeks.

"It iz time for ze dancing."

Anna vigorously shook her head, holding her hands up as if to repel the girls heinous words, "I don't dance."

"Oh come on love, live a little."

A porridge free Matt suddenly appeared at her side; a wicked grin on his lips as he grabbed hold of Anna's hand and dragged her across the room.

"Matthew Lewis let me go this instant. You know I don't dance, you Neanderthal!"

Clearly the boys grin held no sway over his fuming girlfriend...not that Matt seemed the least bit bothered as he pulled her up on one of the tables and started swinging her around to the heavy beat.

With a tipsy chuckle Cecilia scrambled off to join them; soon lost in her own secret world of sound and rhythm, and nearly falling off the edge of the table in her zeal.

Apparently even Hermione wasn't immune to the effects of the music and she toddled away from her game area; grabbing a bemused Luna and a terrified Neville as she passed them and dragging them towards the improvised dance area with a slightly manic grin.

The trio were just starting to climb on the table when a sly faced Jack popped up from behind one of the fruit crates lining the side of the room and shot a series of jinxes at their shoes. The three went down like a sack of bricks; landing against the dance floor with a winded thud as their laces tied themselves together.

Jack roared with laughter as he sauntered passed the fallen teenagers, his face more than a little smug as he climbed onto the table to join the dancing for himself. Harmony was fairly sure the boy wouldn't have looked half as smug if he could've seen the nasty glare Hermione was burning in the back of his head.

"Ouah! I Vin!"

Harmony looked towards the exclamation curiously, just as the music changed from the Weird Sisters to the much more muggle tones of Strawberry Switchblade.

Emmaline looked positively giddy as she skipped away from the record player, while Chris trailed behind her looking equal parts dejected and admiring. Clearly Emmaline had finally won the war of the records, thought how exactly the girl had achieved this victory Harmony wasn't entirely sure.

"Oi!"

Matt's indignant shout pulled Harmony's attention away the girls.

She was just in time to see Anna pushing her exuberant boyfriend off the edge of the table and onto one of the sacks that had been conveniently moved during Hermione's levitation attempts. It burst in a shower of white leaving Matt looking more like a poor imitation of the school ghosts than a student.

Jack started to cackle like a loon, but as he bent forwards to get a better view of his friends misfortune he missed Hermione creeping up behind him; an evil smirk plastered across her face. Before the boy was even aware of what was happening Hermione had placed her hands on his shoulders and shoved.

Hard.

His arms spun like a windmill as he lost his footing, before landing in a heap atop his unfortunate friend.

For a moment the only sound was Matt's cursing as he tried to push Jack off his chest, but soon enough the laugher of the others party goers started in earnest; causing the boys to flush deeply. Clearly neither appreciated being the butt of the joke, and they quickly helped each other off the floor; hurling large fistfuls of flour towards the girls who'd pushed them.

Soon enough Harmony found herself torn away from her seat, and thrown into battle as one of the most epic food fights she'd ever had the pleasure of being a part of raged around her.

Taking a small swig of Cecilia's abandoned beer, Harmony grabbed a handful of the leftover trifle Mary was holding out to her and peeked her head out from behind the large copper pot she was using as cover.

Taking careful aim, she let the trifle fly.

It landed with a satisfying splat in the centre of Matt's head, before smearing its way down his back. Hermione and Anna cheered drunkenly from their hiding place behind several sacks of onions.

Unfortunately this let the others know exactly where they were, and before either girl could duck back down Neville and Luna had scored a direct hit; smothering them in cold rice pudding.

Harmony giggled, before throwing the last scoop of custard, cream and jelly towards their attackers.

With her bowl now empty of ammunition Mary moved away to procure more. She'd been oddly eager in helping despite the horrid mess they were making... In fact all of the elves seemed more invested in getting them to enjoy themselves than worrying about absolute shambles they were making of the kitchens.

Even so Harmony would have to make sure everyone cleaned up before they scarpered back to their rooms for the night, the elves had enough to be dealing with without cleaning up after their fun.

§¥§

The first signs of dusk were yet to make their presence known as Harmony and Hermione made their way back to the carriage, but Harmony could feel in her bones that it wasn't far away.

The elves had not long shooed them from the kitchens, apparently even _their _good nature had limits to keeping unwanted guests around when they had breakfast to prepare for a soon to be waking school. Especially when said guests were engaged in their third hour of an intense game of truth or dare that had resulted in Harmony's bra going missing sometime around hour two after Chris had tasked her to burn it.

As soon as Mary had made them aware they'd outstayed their welcome the revellers had fled in all directions, hoping not to get caught by their soon to be waking roommates. The only ones who'd not to rushed off were herself and Hermione, who'd stayed behind to give a slurred offer of help to the frantic elves who were in the process of cleaning up the mess the nine of them had made.

Mary had not looked the least bit impressed by their offer; actually looking rather offended that they'd offered at all. The motherly elf had given them both a stern glare, stating the cleaning would be quicker without their help, before pushing them out of the kitchens after their long gone friends.

Stumbling through the darkness Harmony could see neither Emma or Cecilia and it was quite clear they were already back at the carriage. She really hoped it was close enough to six thirty that the carriage wards would be deactivated. Because while they'd been smart enough to wedge open their bedroom window before they'd left, Harmony really didn't think either herself or Hermione were in any fit state to climb through it.

_Especially since even thin air seems to be an obstacle_, Harmony thought as the pair went sprawling over the ground in a fit of winded giggles.

She was attempting, and very much failing, to pull a still giggling Hermione off the frosted grass when a gruff male voice stole through the chilly morning.

"Haf you need of hand?"

Whipping around she let go of Hermione's hand; standing over her fallen friend even as her holly companion dutifully dropped into her fingers.

Harmony was sure this would've looked very impressive...were she not pointing her wand handle first towards a world famous seeker who looked about a threatening as a grumpy puppy in his workout clothes.

It took her whisky sodden brain painstaking seconds to realise what sort of image she was likely presenting, and even longer for her to finally cotton on that the boy was waiting for an answer to his offer of help.

A deep flush spread up her cheeks, and not entirely trusting herself to speak she gave the boy a small nod. Krum wasted no time once he saw her agreement; bending down to help the suddenly wide eyed and no longer giggling Hermione to her feet.

"You haf no injury?"

Hermione shook her head dumbly, "You're Viktor krum."

The boy frowned, "Da?"

Her friend swayed getting a dreamy half glazed look in her eyes.

"I want to have your broody babies."

Hermione gave krum a wide smile...right before she threw up all over his trainers.

§¥§

Harmony rolled over on her back trying to relieve the pins and needles in her arm, only for a beam of light to hit her square in the face. With a deep groan she pushed herself over to the windows, shutting the gap in the curtains and ensconcing the room in a soothing blanket of darkness once more.

Happy her retinas were no longer being burned out of her skull, she stumbled back towards her bed; tripping over her discarded boots as she landed face first in her duvet and earning herself a nasty nip to the big toe when the action dislodged Hyacinth from where she'd been curled up at the end of the bed.

Hermione was still snoring like a saw mill; completely oblivious to the small supernova that had exploded in the middle of their room.

If Harmony was honest with herself she hoped her friend stayed that way for sometime.

Merlin only knew what the conversation would go like when she had to tell her friend what she'd said..and done in front of Krum.

Hermione was going to be absolutely mortified.

Though while her friend might suddenly get the strong urge to drown herself in the lake out of sheer embarrassment, Harmony wasn't all that sure the incident was going to be much of a problem in the long run...well not where Krum was concerned any way.

He'd looked oddly nonplussed by his newly decorated trainers, and the fact that Hermione had once more slipped to the ground; merely vanishing the mess without so much of a twitch of his face, before silently picking up her all but comatose friend and carting her off in the direction of the carriage.

She'd made a valiant, though ultimately fruitless, attempt at getting him to put Hermione down, but Krum had simply grunted at her protests and kept walking.

Harmony had come to the conclusion the grunt had been Bulgarian..or perhaps simply Krum for:_ I am not putting her down. Not until I know the two drunk British girls are back in their carriage and safe from their own two feet. _

When Krum had finally deemed to speak to her again it had been to enquire if she wanted him to_:_ _'take your friend to bed'. _

She'd blushed furiously at the boys unintended double meaning and had very quickly declined the offer; requesting he set Hermione on the seats just inside the carriage entrance instead.

She would've been blind not to notice Krum's eyes lingering on Hermione as he'd gently set her down on one of the seats, but the moment had passed in a blink of an eye and with a solemn nod Krum had wandered off into the foggy morning.

After making sure the boy wouldn't come back to once more offer his help, she'd draped her friends arm around her shoulders and dragged her towards their room; stumbling against more than a few of Maxime's nick-nacks along the way.

Once she'd finally managed to get her uncooperative friend inside, Harmony had had neither the will nor the energy to clean up the food residue stuck them and with a resigned huff she'd dumped Hermione on her bed, before stuffing a mound of pillows in her back to stop her rolling over.

Satisfied that her friend wouldn't choke to death, Harmony had kicked off her boots and flopped back into her pillows; completely uncaring that her front was covered in more baked beans than you were likely to find on a full English breakfast...or that her hair was encrusted with dried tomatoes.

Grimacing at the rancid taste in her mouth, and with the distinct impression Van Halen was hosting a concert behind her bloodshot eyeballs, Harmony rolled over on her front; stealthily avoiding another nip from Hyacinth, and reached for her alarm clock.

Half passed eight.

_Bloody hell we've not even been back in the carriage two hours yet. _

Moaning heavily and still very happy to ignore the bean gunk stuck to her chest she shoved her alarm under her pillows and allowed herself to be once more dragged down into Morpheus's sweet embrace.

When she woke for the second time that morning it was with a hard jolt, the confusing realisation that she had no idea how they'd got back to the carriage after leaving the kitchens...

"Why have I got rice pudding in my ha-...oh Merlin I'm gonna be sick!"

And Hermione's hoarse exclamation echoing in her ears as her friend raced for the bathroom.

§¥§

It was just after one in the afternoon and Harmony felt like she'd recently been run over by the knight bus.

A night on of partying, rare though it ultimately was, hadn't left her with this much of an issue since she'd found the wonderful world of hangover draughts… well the wonderful world of St Bernard anyway.

Even at the tender age of fifteen it hadn't taken her long to realise while drinking was fun, the after effects, and the forgone conclusion of getting caught if you showed said after effects around the professors, was not so fun, and she'd set about scouring Eddy's book shelves for a helping hand for the next time herself and Hermione decided they wanted to play the wild child card.

Unfortunately her quest had hit a snag rather quickly.

Every recipe she'd found contained powdered Myrtle in one form or another, a plant she was terribly allergic to. At first she'd attempted to alter the recipes to work without the plant, but she might just as well been drinking water for all the good they'd done... and in one case the altered recipe had made her so spectacularly sick she'd been in the clutches of healer Fogarty for more than a week.

Eddy had not been amused to say the least.

In the end she'd given up finding a suitable substitute for the already terrible (in her opinion) recipes and set about making her own.

It had taken time, trial and error and more than a few team parti-...er... _research sessions_, but by the start of her sixth year the recipe had been perfected and perhaps more shockingly Eddy approved.

The fact that the St Bernard had also given her a tidy little money earner over the last year was just the icing on the cake really.

Unfortunately her creation was going to do her little good now.

Every single bottle of her pre-made batch, save for one very precious vial that had been squirrelled away in Hyacinth sometime ago, had been left at Beauxbatons by accident.

Now if she was honest this would've been a severe enough shock to her battered system on its own, but as per usual with her when it rains it truly pours, and as she'd frantically searched through her various trunks she'd come to the heart stopping realisation that the dozen bottles of St Bernard weren't the only thing she was missing.

All her other pre-made potions, her various equipment and every last scrap of her carefully hand picked ingredients had been left behind as well.

She'd felt like curling up in a ball and weeping.

She still couldn't comprehend how she'd left such an intrinsic part of her life behind, it simply didn't make sense. But however it had happened the urge to curl up in despair had soon been pushed to the back of her mind, as she'd realised the missing potions and a lack of anything with which to make more had left her with a very stark choice.

Use the single bottle she had on herself and watch Hermione suffer, or give the miracle cure to her friend and spend the rest of the day feeling like she wanted to hex the sun and every other light source out of existence.

Ultimately the decision hadn't been a difficult one.

The sound of Hermione's painful retching had made it for her long before she'd even known there was one to be made.

Preparing herself for the forthcoming hours of hell, she'd knelt next to her friend on the bathroom floor and handed over the only bottle of St Bernard.

Not that she'd told Hermione that until after she'd all but sucked the bottle dry.

The twit would've refused to take it had she known, and Harmony had had no intention of them both paying for the sins of the previous night.

She'd already felt bad enough over the fact that she had nothing to offer any of their fellow hangoveries as she'd planned, without the added burden of watching her best friend suffer to.

Hermione had admonished her severely, but quietly, once she'd found out what she'd done.

The words complete moron and absolute idiot had been banded about in turns, even as her friend had darkened her glasses, pressed a cool glass of water into her hands and gently pushed her down into the chairs under the window.

Harmony had been able to do little more than sit there limply, as Hermione had set about cleaning up the mess they'd dragged in with ruthless efficiency.

Torum, Lautus and Scourgify flew from her friends wand.

Dirty clothes had danced around their heads; merrily making their way to the washing basket, while the beds had dutifully stripped themselves in a tumble of heather grey and white.

Hyacinth had not approved.

The bag had been happily lazing in a sun spot on Harmony's pillow until the spelled bedding had flown out from under her; attempting to drag her with it towards the overflowing basket as Hermione's elbow. She'd quickly scrambled away from the enchanted sheets, seeking cover in the partially open wardrobe and occasionally poking her single button eye out of the gap to see if the coast was clear.

Sadly Hermione's stint as Mary Poppins had come to an end sooner than Harmony had been expecting, and before she been able to utter a word of protest Hermione had stripped her of her bean covered clothes and shoved her in the shower; stating she needed to get washed up so they could find her something to eat.

And so here she was, wishing for the sweet release of death as her friend pulled her through a packed great hall.

Honestly if she'd known it was going to be this full she'd have put up more of a fight in the face of Hermione's sickening perkiness...or perhaps sort refuge in the wardrobe alongside Hyacinth when her friend had gone to take a shower of her own.

As Hermione herded her into a seat at the end of the Ravenclaws table, Harmony was surprised to find Luna's normally lonely domain had been filled with the rest of the hangover club.

Though even through her darkened lenses it was clear some of them had faired better than others.

Neville looked so green she had to wonder if the boy had been imbibing chlorophyll instead of beer during the party.

The only one who looked like they truly hadn't been effected by the nights festivities was Luna, who looked just as perky as Hermione did.

This was likely because unlike the rest of them the blond girl had mostly stayed away from the booze the beaters had smuggled into the kitchens. Choosing instead to drink some weird concoction that had been a favourite of her mothers.

She really couldn't remember what the girl had called it any more, but it had something to do with…er...airship plums?

_No that didn't sound right. _

Harmony shook her head slightly, the alcohol and the lack of St Bernard were really starting to do a number on her memories...and no matter how much she racked her brain she still couldn't remember how herself and Hermione had got back to the carriage.

Rather frustratingly she could feel the memory shuffling around at the back of her mind, but like a silken curtain fluttering in the breeze it twisted just out reach every time she got to close.

The continued attempts to grab it were doing little more than adding to her headache and leaving her with the niggling sensation she needed to tell Hermione something.

Giving it one last attempt she pushed for the memories, but they once more slithered through her fingers and with an inaudible sigh she let the problem go.

Keep pushing clearly wasn't going to help, and the memories would come back eventually...they always did one way or another.

She doubted it was anything time sensitive anyway.

"Why don't you look like you've got a troll in your head?"

Someone shifted next to her, and Anna's head suddenly appeared around her arm; a half hearted glare taking up residence on the girls face as she took in Hermione's less than hungover appearance.

"Harm gave me her last St Bernard."

Ice blue eyes blinked owlishly.

You could actually see the gears in Anna's brain trying to work around this apparent non sequitur, before failing miserably. Across the table however another brain had understood the magnitude of Hermione's statement and rose its strawberry blond head in despair.

"What do you mean she gave you ze last bottle! I need zat dog 'air!"

Hermione rolled her eyes, even as she set about making the strongest cup of tea she could manage.

"It means exactly what it means. Harm gave me her only bottle of St Bernard because she's to much of a noble idiot to use it on herself."

"Really feeling the love 'Mione." Harmony mumbled as she pillowed her head in her arms.

"How exactly are you bottling a dog that big? And more to the point why would dog hair cure a hangover?"

Hermione glanced down the table at Matt who looked an unattractive mix of bewildered and half dead. Though he still looked a great deal better than his friend, who was chewing on a limp strand of auburn hair in some misguided attempt to eat what appeared to be a ham and chocolate sandwich.

Shaking her head at the confused boy, Hermione set the strong cup of tea down in front of Harmony attempting to get her to drink it.

"We're not talking about bottled dogs _Matt,_" She really hoped the boy picked up on the subtle undertone of: you're an idiot.

"And Cecilia is referring to hair of the dog not actual dog hair, though frankly that's not the correct term either since hair of the dog is actually a reference to having another drink to relieve the effects of your hangover. Which St Bernard is not. What it_ is,_ is a hangover draught Harm created a little while ago, but as I said she's left her pre-made supply at Beauxbatons."

"Oui it is a gift from ze gods, and if she 'as left zis nectar behind all 'ope iz lost!"

Harmony vaguely felt like throttling her keeper as she lifted her head off her arms and took a tentative sip of her tea. She would've preferred coffee but it clearly wasn't a beverage the elves put out for the students.

"Do stop being so mellow dramatic Cecilia." She stated tiredly, grimacing at the horrid taste of too strong tea took over her taste buds, "you'll get over your hangover soon enough. Probably quicker than me if history holds true."

Cecilia grunted sulkily before laying her head back on Emma's shoulder, who was too busy drooling over the table to notice she was being used as a pillow.

Harmony was absently listening to Luna extolling the virtues of drinking cold brewed chamomile to relieve the effects of a hangover to a very interested Neville, Xenophilius Lovegood swore by it apparently, when the guttural croak of a raven cut through her pounding brain.

She wasn't even given chance to acknowledge the new comer before she was being pecked none to gently by an anti social and rather familiar looking bird.

Shoving the raven away from her head she grumpily rubbed at the area it had been pecking before squint glaring into the birds beady eyes.

"What do you want?"

Apparently glaring things into submission wasn't an effective deterrent when your eyes were hidden by darkened lenses, because the bird continued to stare at her completely undaunted.

With a huff that was more grunt than actual huff, she reached forwards and untied the note attached to the ravens leg.

Apparently satisfied it had done it's job, or perhaps simply satisfied it had pissed some off, the silky bird spread it wings and took off; almost knocking over a pitcher of pumpkin juice as it flew along the table and headed for the small windows lining the top of the hall.

With the nuisance gone, she looked at the plain note in her hands; her stomach sinking in a way that had nothing to do with the after effects of the alcohol.

Turning the note over, she picked open the black Slytherin seal and began to read.

_Miss Potter_

_In forbearance of last nights debacle I have taken steps to ensure the temptation to enter my private lab and destroy my equipment without permission is removed._

_Be in the entrance hall at eight O'clock sharp. _

_Professor S Snape._

With a low groan she re-folded the note and placed her head back on the table.

_Circe and Morgana I so don't need to be dealing with this today_ _. _

Her stomach was already doing flips that would make a gymnast proud, without the added burden of wondering what Snape might mean by ensuring temptation had been removed.

Harmony was so busy contemplating what type of punishment the man might have waiting for her, that she failed to notice Hermione reading over the note...not until her friend very deliberately poked her in the shoulder to gain her attention.

"Harm? what does Snape mean you've destroyed his equipment?"

"It's not as bad as it sounds." Harmony stated evasively.

Hermione's eyes narrowed, "What have you done."

"Nothing."

"Harm." Hermione gave her a look and Harmony let out a resigned sigh, she supposed it would've been pointless trying to hide it anyway.

"I might've mouthed off at him, used his lab without permission and banished a very expensive cauldron?"

"Harmony!"

"Well the cauldron certainly wasn't my fault." Harmony stated feeling just a tad defensive, "the idiot walked away and left his volatile potion on the flame without even erecting a stasis charm. What else should I have done other than vanish it? The thing was a right off anyway."

"How about walk away and leave it alone...or I don't know actually wait for professor Snape to come back and sort it himself."

Harmony shook her head slightly, wincing as it made the pounding ache worse. "I couldn't have done that, Snape wasn't there when I turned up for detention, and by the time I realised something was wrong I'd already been alone in the classroom a good half hour or so. If I'd waited for him to return he likely would've lost the lab along with his cauldron."

Hermione rubbed a hand under her eyes, not quite believing what she was hearing. She was positive other people did not have to deal with their friends doing this type of thing.

"And the rest? How did you go from banishing a cauldron that was apparently posing a safety hazard, to then apparently feeling entitled to using the professors labs and no doubt digging yourself a very early grave by mouthing off a Snape of all people."

Harmony grimaced scratching at the back of her neck, "Well I really was trying to help-"

"Oh god."

"You see once I'd got rid of the toxic smoke and the ruined cauldron, it sort of became obvious what he'd been making...and I thought it might be nice for me to make him another batch since his original attempt had clearly been ruined. You know a bit like tit for tat? I mean I mentioned the Mallenio salve...didn't I?"

"Yes." Hermione sighed, like she was truly resigned to her friend being an idiot.

"Right so I was bored of waiting around anyway and he clearly needed the potion so why not kill two birds with one stone, while also doing something nice. It seemed like a really good idea at the time-"

"I bet."

"But just as I was getting near the final stages he burst into the lab, and I jumped so hard I sliced the top of my hand and I sort of, maybe shouted at him about what the hell he was thinking banging into the room like that-"

Hermione closed her eyes as she pinched the top of her nose, "So what you're actually saying is you had a go at Snape for walking into_ his own lab _and making you jump hard enough that you sliced your hand, even though realistically the man had no way of knowing you were: A squatting in his _private_ space, and B in the middle of dicing something."

"Yes?"

"Harm. Please tell me that was all you meant by 'mouthing off'."

"Er...I can't?"

"Harm!"

"I didn't mean to, it's just... you know how I am with teachers at the best of times and then things just sort of escalated. The potion was on the turn and I needed to get the next ingredient in, which meant he thought I was ignoring him, which I wasn't. But in my explanation for why I wasn't ignoring him he might've thought I was sort of implying he was a dimwit...which I guess I was in hindsight."

"Oh Merlin, this is getting worse."

"And then he realised his original cauldron was missing and he wasn't pleased in the slightest-"

"I wonder why."

"But I had been sort of willing to understand his ire over that. Despite the fact I personally feel I did the right thing banishing the noxious lump. But anyway he called me stupid, implied I thought myself above the rules because I'd been made champion and then topped it off by comparing me to James...and once that happened...well all bets were off. We both called each other some really unpleasant things...mine were probably a little cruder than his admittedly-"

"I can imagine, you have a vocabulary that would make a pirate blush." Hermione stated dryly.

"Thanks."

"That is not a compliment Harmony."

"Not to you maybe. But anyway things were said by the both of us but when he insulted my ability to make a passable potion that was the final straw, after all I was only making the potion for him. I ended up calling him an acrimonious arse and stormed out of the classroom; leaving him to finish the headache draught...though I have a feeling Snape may just have got rid of it..shame really cause I thought I looked like it was turning into one of my better batches."

Hermione took a deep cleansing breath before pursing her lips and looking Harmony straight in the eye. "First of all I would like to know how exactly you're still alive after what you've just described. Professor Snape is not a man known for lenience, particularly with mouthy students. But really what I want to know is what the hell you thought you were doing in the first place! Of all the stupid things you've done this really comes high on the list. How would you have felt if you'd walked into your private lab and found some random nobody messing around with your-"

Harmony held up a hand cutting her friend off before she could get to loud, "Before you start I've already come to the conclusion that I am very much in the wrong, I was acting like a petulant self entitled brat...just like Snape implied." Running a defeated hand through her hair she gave Hermione a wane smile, "I realised that around about the time you shoved me in the shower. I really was only trying to do the man a favour, but as usual I didn't think before I acted and it backfired. I doubt it will make much of a difference to the man's opinion of me but I will apologise for the things I said...and touching his lab contents without permission. I'm not apologising for banishing his cauldron though."

"Harm-"

"No 'Mione, I get that I could've gone about things differently I really do, but I will not take the blame for that man's cauldron. Not when he was the one stupid enough to leave it unattended in the first place. It wouldn't have mattered whether I'd waited for his approval or not. By the time I found it it was well beyond saving...trust me I've ruined enough cauldrons by now to know what a knackered one looks like."

Harmony leaned back slightly giving Hermione a long look, "So yes I will apologise for everything but that and I will accept whatever punishment he see's fit to send my way. I honestly don't think I can say fairer than that really...I doubt Snape will appreciate my overtures but at least they'll have been made."

Hermione stared at her for a moment before shaking her head, "Life's never dull with you is it?"

"Not usually no."

§¥§

Severus paced back and forth over the polished stone of the entrance hall, his thick wool cloak flapping around his ankles like a fabric metronome.

He wondered if the girl would have enough brain to pick up the subtle significance of her altered punishment, though with Potter for a father there was every chance the subtleties would simply fly over her Slytherin green head.

If he was honest that was his hope, his conscience might deem he was somehow in the wrong, but he personally did not. She had used his things without permission, shot off her mouth like an entitled brat and banished the first masters grade cauldron he'd ever purchased.

It was his right, nay duty, to ensure extra punishment was served for those infarctions...but he also had to grudgingly concede that something had to be done about the belittlement of her abilities, undoubtedly the thing that had finally sent the girl storming out of his lab, and the fact that strictly speaking while she should not have banished his possession without permission, the fact that it needed banishing in the first place was not a blame that could be so squarely laid on her shoulders either.

His conscience, such as it was, had pressed for an apology however that was about as palatable as it was probable. Even if it was just to make the damnable feeling of being in the wrong go away, and would in no way be issued to sooth the girl, it had simply not been a thought, or a word, he'd been able to stomach; so he'd come up with a compromise.

She would still be punished, he'd added three extra weeks onto the brats sentence for her little out burst, however the punishment would not be the normal drudgery of cleaning his classroom or being sent to Argus's beck and call, but a concession to the skill she had shown in the brewing of the headache draught.

A headache draught that for all intents and purposes she had only brewed because she thought it was something he needed… and even if the way she went about doing it was less than wise she clearly had done it with the intention of helping. He doubted most seventeen years olds simply starting brewing volatile potions for shits and giggles...well any that weren't him at least.

The alarm on his watch chimed the hour and he swiped his thumb over the delicate emerald and silver mechanism, before placing the watch within the protective confines of his cloak.

Crossing his arms over his chest he came to a stop and pulled himself up to his full height; hoping the image exuded the very essence of the menacing blood sucker the students often times compared him to. He might have deemed a concession was needed but that didn't mean he was going to lay out the red carpet for the insolent dunderhead either.

Minutes ticked by and Severus began to wonder if the girl had decided not to turn up.

If that was the case his concession would be sailing out the window and into the black lake before the hour was out.

Finally the approach of booted feet began to echo around the entrance hall as the Potter girl came into view.

Quite against his will he felt his left eye start to twitch.

Potter was dressed in jeans that looked more hole than material and a thick fair-isle jumper that appeared to have had the entire left elbow chewed off by a rabid zip. Her hair was the only thing that seemed to be in any form of representable state; having been pinned to the top of her head in a gravity to defying mound of curls.

Without meaning to his eyes traced over the over large neck of her jumper and to the tantalising slither of pale collar bone and shoulder. It was nice to see his salve had done the job he'd intended.

Potter pushed her glasses back up her face as she got nearer, before hiking her jumper back in place and cutting off his less than professional contemplations. He gave himself a mental shake, his patented sneer taking over his face...he was there for her blasted detention, not ogling shoulders he should have no interest in in the first place.

"You are five minutes late Miss Potter."

The impudent brat had the audacity to roll her eyes, and he had to remind himself why he thought he needed to make any type of concessions to this girl, instead of simply throwing her at Argus's mercy.

"I'm sure the toilets will be _soo_ worried I'm late for their scrubbing. I shall simply have to give them my sincerest apologies, won't I."

Severus raised an eyebrow at her sarcasm, it needed a little work but it wasn't bad for the spawn of Potter.

"Since I am not in a position to converse with the sanitary wear I would not be able to tell you one way or another. However your assumption that you will be scrubbing toilets is erroneous. Though if you want to persist with your teenage petulance, and lack of verbal filter I am quite sure I can arrange for such an outing tomorrow night should you still wish to convey your apologies to the porcelain in person."

Severus bared his teeth slightly looming over the girl, "After last nights debacle you are on are on incredibly thin ice. I would suggest you tread carefully if you do not want your already lengthened punishment to get longer still."

Potter rubbed a hand over her face, a look of resigned maturity taking up residence in her absinthe eyes; as if the parents had suddenly come home and put the teenager in her head to bed.

"I know, and I really need to apologise for what I did last night. I shouldn't have spoken to you like I did or touched your things, whether or not my intention was to help. I won't apologise for the cauldron though, that really wasn't-..." She suddenly cut off, blinking up at him through her square lenses as if something had only just occurred to her.

"If I'm not scrubbing the toilets what am I doing?"

Severus stared the girl down for a beat, internally rather surprised that she had made any overtures of apology at all.

"Since you appear more comfortable in an area that is prohibited to the likes of yourself and your fellow imbecilic dunderheads, as demonstrated by your lack of ability to stay out of my lab, I have decided to relocate the nights detention to the forbidden forest. I am in need of ingredients for my stores, and last nights fiasco proved two things. That you are capable of destroying items without a care for their owner-"

"I hardly had a ruddy choi-"

"And that you are also in possession of a minor ability to recognise ingredients for what they are if they are placed directly under your nose. It is the latter ability I wish to make use of, and if you manage not screw up I may even consider providing you with some salve for your injury."

He cast a pointed glance at Potters bandaged hand, before turning on his heel and stalking off down the corridor towards the main entrance.

§¥§

Harmony stared blankly after the billowing black shape of the deputy headmaster.

What exactly was she supposed to make of what the man had just said to her.

Yes on the surface it was clear he was, rightfully, pissed about her behaviour but at the same time it almost looked like he was making a very odd apology...well not an apology, she doubted that the man was capable of that...but a concession perhaps. That while he didn't approve of what she'd done he perhaps didn't think her quite as idiotic as he'd implied the night before.

That was...something she supposed.

The professor clearly had an aptitude for being an bastard, she'd felt prickles of it herself and heard more than few colourful stories to the same as the afternoon had worn on; apparently the man was not short of students willing to bad mouth him, though they at least had been smart enough not to say anything to his face, and yet bastard or not there was clearly an awful lot more to the professor than idle gossip and first impressions would have you believe.

Certainly she wouldn't have thought the man had it in him to turn what could've been, and if she was honest should've been, a humiliating or gruesome punishment...into an odd concession of her abilities.

And it was an oddity, because not twenty four house prior Snape had no qualms stating what he thought of her touching anything to do with his potions, and yet here he was trusting her enough to help him gather ingredients in the forest.

That was not something you simply deferred on some random nobody as a detention. Harvesting required the harvester to have a modicum of skill and good sense, something she would bet Snape had not been thinking of her as she stormed out of his classroom.

The only thing she could think of that might have festered this turn around in the man was if he had not discarded her potion after she'd left, but finished the brewing process and found the headache draught had in fact not turned out to be something that was 'more likely to kill than to cure'.

Shaking her head she realised she'd let her thoughts get away from her, and the professor was already starting to make his way over the grass towards the forest.

With a huff she rushed after him.

Snape was clearly an enigma, but perhaps given time he was one that she could unravel.

§¥§

Half an hour later and whatever thoughts she'd been having about Snape the enigma had taken a temporary back seat, as her brain forced her to focus on something just a tad more pressing.

She was absolutely bloody freezing.

Make no mistake defence worn jeans and a Hyacinth chewed jumper were not suitable attire when you were traipsing through a frost covered Scottish forest.

A warming charm would've gone down a treat, but certain plants, and in the odd case creatures, were highly sensitive to whatever magic might've been recently cast upon the collector. So until she knew precisely what Snape wanted her to do it was probably best to go without...she didn't need his undoubtedly fragile trust in her abilities going south before they'd yet had a chance to climb north...even if her fingers were turning a very fetching shade of blue.

Bringing them up to her face she blew warmly over the frozen digits; hoping to get some feeling back and glaring at Snape's head as she did so. He didn't seem to be effected by the pervasive chill in the air at all, simply striding along some unidentifiable path through the looming trees as he lit their way with a small muggle torch.

Harmony was about to ask him what exactly they were looking for, when he came to an abrupt stop; nearly sending her careening into his back.

His torch shone left and then right before its beam landed on a small copse of holly tree's. The professor strode straight through them, leaving Harmony no choice but to scramble after him as he walked away with her only source of light.

When she emerged into the large clearing beyond the tree's she was covered in scratches and her jeans felt like they'd gained more than a few new holes. Dusting herself off she looked around the area Snape had brought her to...it was a bit of a let down if she was honest. She could see no particular plants or animals, just a medium sized pond with a surface so still she was sure it would've been reflecting moonlight like a mirror if the sky hadn't been devoid of the celestial body.

Snape himself was crouched next to the ponds edge, moving his torch over a patch of scrub that looked more dead than alive. Apparently hearing her boots crunching through the thin leaf litter he stood and turned towards her.

His torch bleached eyes assessed her from inside their sallow home and she had the inexplicable urge to tug on her ratty jumper and check her hair for any wayward twigs. Snape grunted slightly before looking away and shining his torch back over the waters edge; once more illuminating the scrub near his boots.

"Miss Potter, can I trust you to know how to handle this specimen or is the ability to harvest Moonbell beyond your likely limited scope."

It was the first time the man had spoken to her since they'd left the entrance hall, and frankly he sounded like even asking this of her was akin to him having his teeth pulled.

Apparently concessions came no easier to the man than she'd suspected apologies would.

"Yes I know how to harvest Moonbells," Harmony stated, unable to keep the hint of: _well duh_ from her voice, "am_ I _to trust_ you_ have a pure silver knife with which I can harvest them?"

His response was to sneer unpleasantly as he pulled several small items from within his cloak. A knife and a tiny bundle of collection cloth were slapped into her hand as he stalked passed her, heading for the trees they'd just come through and leaving her to battle the thick darkness of the empty clearing on her own.

Shaking her head slightly, Harmony retrieved her wand from up her sleeve and shot several light orbs towards the area Snape had been stood in front before wandering over to take a look herself. There were around three dozen iridescent tulip shaped flowers, innocently hiding in the scrub while their long wispy stamens quivered in the light breeze passing through the clearing.

Thankfully Moonbells were not the least bit sensitive to magic and with a prayer of thanks to Circe Harmony finally cast the much longed for warming charm over herself; instantly feeling the icy grip of the Scottish weather loosening it's hostile fingers. Placing a cushioning charm over the cold ground she knelt down and began the painstaking process of severing the hardy little plants from their stubby stems.

She was placing the last of the flowers in a piece of Snape provided muslin when the sound of something crunching through the undergrowth caught her attention. Glancing towards the tree line she couldn't see any movement and shrugged slightly before turning back to the task at hand thinking it was merely Snape returning.

Satisfied that everything was secure, she placed the small bundle and the knife in the enlarged pocket of her jeans, before dusting off her legs and turning to ask Snape what he wanted her to do next.

Harmony stared quite blankly for a moment, not entirely sure she wasn't seeing things.

Instead of the dour potions master she'd expected, she found she'd gained the company of a tiny golden foal who was gazing at her with innocent eyes.

Her eyes instantly darted around the clearing, expecting to see the pure white of it's mother, but there wasn't a trace of a parent anywhere. The baby apparently didn't see a problem with this, because seeing it had Harmony's attention it snorted softly, before cautiously walking forwards.

Harmony swallowed, she'd never seen a unicorn in anything other than her CoM text books. Though perhaps she shouldn't be surprised to come across one here...it was Scotland's national animal after all.

The foal came to a stop a few feet in front of her.

It wasn't showing any obvious signs of distress but that didn't mean it would want her touching it either, or that it wouldn't bolt if she accidentality spooked it. With no other frame of reference she decided to do what she did whenever she went to see the new born Abraxans in the Beauxbatons stables.

Barely daring to breath she licked at her suddenly dry lips and reached out a tentative hand; allowing the foal the opportunity to see if it liked her or not. If she was honest she was expecting at best a slight sniff of her hand or at worst for the creature to walk away if her overture wasn't appreciated. What she wasn't expecting was for the foal to take her outstretched palm as an open invitation to shove its silky snout into her fingers.

Feeling equal parts surprised and emboldened she brushed her fingers over the snout and up the creatures downy head; taking note of the tiny bump that would one day grow into a magnificent horn.

The foal whickered softly as her fingers dallied around the lump, a sound she could only assume was approval as the creature pushed its head further into her hand clearly wanting more.

She'd just started treating the creature to a neck rub when an unwelcome voice stole through the chilly clearing.

"Miss Potter have you-.."

The foal released a distressed neigh cutting Snape off, before bolting passed Harmony and disappearing into the far off tree's like a ghost into the night.

The creatures abrupt departure left Harmony with a fistful of silky mane and her feet scrabbling for balance on the slippery waters edge; her arms flailing as she attempted to stay upright. Just as she thought she'd managed to stop herself from going over her heel caught on something solid; causing her ankle to turn under her and bringing her ungainly efforts for balance to a crashing end.

The chill stole her breath as she fell into the frigid liquid at her back.

Barely a few seconds passed before long fingered hands reached down and grasped her arms, hauling her up out of the biting water.

Snape instantly tried to set her on her feet, but her ankle wouldn't have it; simply turning underneath her leg at the first application of weight. She was sure she would've ended up in a heap near Snape's feet if it wasn't for the man's iron like grip on her upper arms.

"Miss Potter would you care to enlighten me as to why seem intent on making such a damnable nuisance of yourself? I clearly remember asking you to harvest Moonbell, not go looking for the magical creatures of the forest."

Harmony glared up at the man through her dripping glasses and chattering teeth.

"I.I Dd..didn't, I..I thought it was Y..you!"

Snape raised a single unimpressed eyebrow, before loosening his grip on her left arm and pointing his wand at her. Harmony flinched slightly as more weight was placed on her injured foot, before Snape muttered something and a rush of air swept over her; leaving her dry if not particularly warm.

Something made all the worse because the damn warming charm on her jumper had been cancelled out by the water.

"Indeed? Pray tell at what point during this passed hour did I suddenly turn into a paragon of all things virtuous and light." He gave her a dry look, "If nothing else I would expect to have noticed the sudden pointy growth in the middle of my forehead...or perhaps the wholly inexplicable need to seek out and protect virgins."

Harmony rolled her eyes, even as the unwelcome image of a black, snarky, ill tempered unicorn trotted through her head.

"I didn't mean it looked like you. I heard a noise and thought it was you coming back, I didn't know it was a foal until I turned around and found it looking at me. Detention or not I was hardly going to shoo it away was I?" Harmony paused for a moment, "though in the interest of keeping things factual, I would like to point out if you ever _did_ manage to turn into a unicorn I very much doubt the first thing you'd do would be to seek out virgins and protect them. They're animals not chastity belts."

§¥§

Severus rubbed an irritated hand over his eyes.

He hadn't realised the Potter penchant for finding trouble was a genetic trait. He certainly couldn't believe it was anything else...no one other than a Potter could possibly find themselves in this many ludicrous situations within such a short space of time. She'd barely been at the school four days and she'd already done more in that time to shake the foundations of trouble making than most of his students managed in their entire careers.

And the snarky brat had clearly injured herself again.

Honestly was she attempting to beat Longbottom's record for the most hospital visits in a week?

Of course the pertinent question now was if she would need to once more be placed in Poppy's able hands or if he would be able to deal with the issue himself. She'd better hope so because if he was forced to carry her up to the castle she would be seeing her porcelain friends for a very long time.

He could feel her almost bird like bone structure through her thick jumper as he re-gripped her unoccupied arm and steered her towards a large boulder just off to the side of her right leg.

"Hey! What are you-..."

He glared at her as he manoeuvred her onto the rock, "I am endeavouring to get you placed so that I might fix whatever injury you have sustained and we can once more be on our way." Crouching down in front of her he pulled his wand ready to perform a diagnostic, "I have more things to collect tonight than a few paltry specimens of Moonbell, and I do not need the added burden of an injured child slowing me down because she has not yet learned to keep her hands to herself."

Potter huffed; crossing her arms over her chest as she gave him a narrow eyed look.

"I'm not a child, and I don't need you to fix anything. Just let me rest a few minutes and I'll be fine to continue traipsing through the forest after your surly arse."

Severus growled low in his throat.

"That comment has gained you another day of detention Miss Potter. You say you're not a child and yet this persistent petulance says otherwise, if you want me to believe you're the young adult you're claiming to be I would suggest you tell me where you're hurt without the attitude."

Green eyes assessed him before she reluctantly lifted her left foot, her shoulders slumping in defeat.

"I really don't think it's anything serious, like I said I'm pretty sure I just need to rest it for a few minutes."

"I will be the judge of that Miss Potter."

Placing his wand on the grass he gently grasped the proffered leg; deliberately ignoring the loud hiss she emitted as he removed the heavy burgundy boot and rolled off her thick sock

Bared to the air the source of Potter's discomfort became readily apparent.

The girls hovering light orbs cast the contrasting colours and angles of her ankle into stark contrast; the darkening bruising easily identifiable against the normal creaminess of her skin. Picking up his wand he cast a simple diagnostic over the injured ankle; softly palpating the appendage in various places as the result unspooled from his wand in a list of teal blue.

Inflamed tissue and a couple of torn ligaments.

Both things he could easily fix.

"Well?"

Severus glanced up into the girls face, she see her peering anxiously at the results. Apparently her bravado only carried her so far.

"It is merely a sprained ankle... nothing broken."

He did the girl the service of not mentioning her audible sigh of relief. He'd been at the mercy of skele-grow himself a time or two... or ten... as clearly had she.

He might be a potions master but in his opinion escaping a brush with the stuff should always be regarded with a heavy sense of relief.

Pulling roll of collection cloth from his cloak he bound the ankle tightly, before beginning the painstaking, though relatively quick process of healing the damage.

His wand glowed softly as he moved it up and down her ankle in even circles, before it eventually snuffed out telling him the damage had been repaired.

Placing the girls foot back on the grass, Severus stood up feeling the unfortunately familiar ache in his knees.

The things reminding him he was the wrong side if thirty were becoming ever more apparent recently. Though he didn't doubt a great deal of his issues stemmed from his formative years of co-towing to a megalomanic with an itchy trigger finger when it came to the unforgivables...well that and the fact his pain salve seemed to be loosing its effectiveness these passed few months, he'd have to try and re-work it again when he got some free time over Yule.

The girl hissed slightly as she moved her foot around, testing his repair, he didn't doubt that it would still be fairly sore but his sympathy for her plight was only going to go so far when he was on a tight schedule.

"Put your boot back on Miss Potter. I wasn't joking when I said we had much more to do in the forest tonight."

Potter looked away from her foot, and blinked up at him a slight grimace on her face that had nothing to with the pain.

"I..er...I'm sorry for calling you an arse...again..and thank you for...you know fixing my foot."

Severus favoured her with a curt nod before moving off to the other side of the clearing. He needed to make sure his recently picked specimens were still in good condition after they been dropped in his haste to retrieve the girl from the water.

§¥§

Harmony laced her boot loosely over her tender foot before wandering over to where Snape had stopped at the edge of the clearing.

The glow of her light orbs didn't reach this far over and he was busy shining his torch over a large wicker basket, allowing her to see what the man was looking at as she neared his side. It was clearly the specimens Snape had collected while Harmony had been busy with the Moonbells.

_Shit the Moonbells. _

Shoving her hand into the enlarged pocket she pulled the small muslin bundle from her jeans; hoping neither the water or the fall had damaged the plants. Unwrapping the cloth she could see the flowers were a little crinkled but otherwise unharmed, and with a relieved grin she gently covered them back up, before dropping them over Snape's shoulder and into the basket; unintentionally drawing his attention to her.

He acknowledged the parcel with a barely perceptible tilt of his head before rising from the ground; the basket placed securely in the crook of his elbow. A low groan left the man's lips as his knee's cracked in protest. She was tempted to ask if he was okay, but thought perhaps it was the type of question that might render her headless, so she kept her concern to herself, instead enquiring where they were going now her ankle was dealt with.

Snape glanced at her; a calculating look on his face that was vaguely unnerving. "Tell me Potter what would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

Harmony blinked, "What?"

"It's a simple question Miss Potter."

Harmony knew her face was screwing up like an old rag but she couldn't help it, what type of question was that to suddenly ask out of the blue. "The draught of living death?"

"And where would you look if I were to tell you to find me a bezoar?"

She scratched at her head slightly, "Er in the stomach of a goat...or you know in the store cupboard, if your school actually keeps things that expensive around, I know Beauxbatons doesn't."

Snape rubbed a hand over his eyebrows as if he truly wished he was anywhere other than there.

"And what Miss Potter is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

Harmony gave the man an unimpressed look, that question was almost insulting...particularly with what her godfather was. "There isn't a difference, they're the same thing. Even the thickest student would know that, I mean the plant is fairly distinctive."

Snape nodded suddenly looking almost pleased with himself. "In that case you have no excuse to screw up while we're searching for late flowering aconite."

Harmony's mouth dropped as the man turned on his heel and strode off.

_That slimy son of a bitc-_

Snape suddenly stopped just before entering the tree's, turning to look at her once more.

"And this time do try and keep yourself from looking for magical forest creatures like some sort of star struck first year. If you wish to break Longbottom's infirmary record I would prefer you do it on your own time."

She wasn't sure but she could've sworn she saw a slight smirk on the man's chapped lips as he disappeared through the tree's.

"I didn't go looking for the foal in the first place!" Harmony shouted, before racing after him.

**Well I hope you enjoyed the much awaited chapter. Once again a huge thank you to everyone who left well wishes.**

**A couple of you curious people were wondering what I'd done to myself to warrant such a nasty injury so I'll leave you all with a simple equation. **

**Me**

**Squared by my normal clumsiness**

**Times my four year old nieces ability to leave hot wheel cars practically everywhere**

**Divided by me cradling a very large cake in my hands. **

**Plus one longish set of stone steps leading into the back garden and my nephews birthday party**

**Equals one very big mess. :P**

**Thanks for reading and lets hope we don't go another three three...er four? months without an update. **

**See Y'all soon Pink x ()**


	16. Hogsmeade

Hi guys.

Sorry this chapter had taken so long to hit your screens, I had hoped to have it up for my thirtieth birthday on the tenth, but well life seems to have conspired against me of late.

This chapter may seem a little fillerish but there are some important hints in here for later so learn them well if you can find them all. Some are probably obvious and the rest...well you're just going to have to read between the lines cause I'm a twisty little so and so. :D

Enjoy!

It was just before nine on a dreary Monday morning as Harmony and Hermione made their way down the lonely road that led to Hogsmeade village.

Strictly speaking they were supposed to be undertaking their first self study sessions of the week: arithmancy for Hermione and potions practical for Harmony, but therein laid the problem. You couldn't exactly conduct a potions practical when you had nothing to conduct it with.

Asking Eddy to send the missing equipment and ingredients to her was out of the question, since with such a heavy load even the owls of the continental post would keel over before they reached the channel. And even though herself and Snape had parted on more amicable terms the night before, if you could call him moodily answering her questions and silently glaring her into the carriage amicable…which she sort of did, she was not going to track the man down and ask to borrow what essentially amounted to an entire lab and half his stores.

She was fairly sure his sneer alone would be enough to turn her into pot ash.

Therefore a trip into the village to purchase what she needed was unavoidable. She simply hoped her savings would be enough to cover the cost, otherwise a visit to Gringotts was in her near future and that was something she truly had no desire for.

Not because she feared being turned away. Merlin knew the Gringotts goblins had been hounding her since she'd turned seventeen to come in for an appointment; they'd be fucking thrilled if she finally showed her face. And it wasn't like she feared lack of funds either. Sirius had made her his heir when she was twelve and with it had come access to the seemingly endless Black fortune.

The real crux of the matter, despite her Godfathers many impassioned rants whenever Harmony mentioned it, was that she just didn't feel comfortable touching money she felt wasn't hers. Even if the necessity of school things dictated she'd often had no choice in the matter.

Of course one might question why she had need to use Sirius's gold in the first place given that the Potter estate was nothing to sniff at. But of that vast estate there was only one vault she had personal access to.

Her hush vault.

Every month like clock work one hundred galleons was transferred from the main Potter accounts in London and into her little corner of Rue Lisette Banque. And even at her most desperate she knew she'd never use it.

It didn't matter to her that the money had likely never passed through James's grubby fingers or that it had likely been her grandparents and probably even their grandparents before them. The sheer thought of touching it, when it had come to her merely as a way of trying to keep her quiet, made her feel dirty and sick to the stomach.

At the end of the day the only money she ever felt comfortable using was what she'd earned herself. Something which had only become an option for her in the last few years, and even then it was still a tad controversial.

Simply put she sold potions to the general student populous of Beauxbatons.

Nothing illegal of course. It was mostly acne cures and Lady Lax for those who felt to embarrassed to go to healer Fogarty, and St Bernard and prophylactics for those who knew better than to do so. Eddy always checked her potions over before she sold them, and her mentor had been quite clear that once she graduated the practice of selling potions without a mastery would have to cease. But for the moment her sideline for those in the know had enabled her to mostly break free from her dependence on others.

But replacing all her potions paraphernalia was no small ask, and with no way of making any more money while she was at Hogwarts Harmony was more than aware that even if she didn't need to that day, one day soon she would need to swallow her pride and use Sirius's vaults.

Though she hoped she could put of the inevitable for as long as possible.

Putting her hand in the pocket of her purple cloak she absently started to twiddle with her small leather money pouch; rolling the coins inside it between her fingers even as she glanced over at Hermione.

All thoughts about her financial situation aside it was nice to see her friend so happy about something other than books.

If she was honest she'd actually been quite surprised that the prospect of seeing Hogsmeade for the first time appeared to have made Hermione forget the were essentially playing hookie to do so... though she supposed the fact that Remus had opened the main gates for them had negated some of her more overzealous worries.

"I clearly don't need to ask if you're looking forward to this or not," Harmony said after watching her friend for a few moments. "You look like you're about to buzz out of your own skin."

Hermione gave her a mock glare from under the edge of her turquoise woolly hat.

"Oh hush. We're going to the only fully magical village in Britain. How can you not be excited about that? Don't you think it will be interesting to see how wizards and witches live when they don't have to hide themselves from muggles."

A biting breeze whistled down the hard packed path, and Harmony gave her friend a deadpan look as she pulled her thick green scarf tighter around her throat.

"We live in a magical school ten months of the year 'Mione," She said just a little sarcastically, "and Rue Lisette is hardly crawling with muggles. I think we already know how they live."

Harmony hid her smirk in her scarf as the words had the intended effect. Almost instantly Hermione rolled her eyes and started in on one of her patented rants about the existential differences of two societies both forced to live by the same statute.

It was so easy to wind her friend up sometimes.

§¥§

Severus leaned against the scoured counter as he waited for Broderick to appear from the back with his order.

A loud crash followed by a lot of cursing told him it was far from ready, and with an aggravated huff he wandered over to the display of books at the front of the shop.

Some were leather bound works of serious potions mastery, others were simple ingredient guides for his dunderheaded students to peruse. But the vast majority were gaudy recipe books for mediocre home brewers and hobbyist potioners alike.

The mere presence of such books disgusted him and he felt a sneer steal over his lips as he was forced to look at the wastes of parchment.

To his mind one could not expect to pick up a brush for the first time and find you were Michelangelo incarnate; most would agree it would be a fallacy to do so. And yet society as a whole believed that anyone with no prior knowledge, or even a modicum of skill, could pick up a blunt knife and a three sickle sheath of brightly coloured parchment and become the next Linfred of Stinchcombe.

If any of the fools who'd bought these 'books' had actually made a passable potion from the drivel they contained he'd eat his cloak.

Plucking one of the less offensive looking texts from the shelf he sequestered himself away in a heavily shadowed corner at the back of the shop and settled in for what promised to be a long wait. It sounded like Broderick had got his foot caught in one of the horned toad barrels again.

Honestly the apothecary had gone to the dogs since the man had started working there.

He found himself scoffing at a wholly ridiculous paragraph where the author was trying argue that aconite could not in fact be poisonous to werewolves, due to it proven inclusion in Belby's wolfsbane, when the warped door at the front of the shop opened.

Damp Scottish air breathed into the musty room, causing Severus to tug his cloak more firmly about himself. The door closed with a quiet thump and two sets of feet started wandering around near the front displays.

Making no move to avail the newcomers of his presence Severus turned his attention back to his book. Hopefully if they didn't know he was there he would be able to avoid the need for the pointless social interactions these types of situations usually seemed to dictate.

He'd just managed to get to the end of another wholly laughable page of drivel when an unfortunately familiar voice broke through the silence of the shop; bringing his perusal of the trash in his hands to a screeching halt.

"Do you want one jar of viper fangs or two?"

That was Granger.

Which meant the other one with her could only be... "Better make it two"… the Potter girl.

"I'll need to make a bigger batch of Lady Lax this month to make up for the ones I left behind… Can you see a basket anywhere? I'm gonna drop this lot in a minute."

"Er…I think I saw some over in the corner."

Booted feet headed towards him and he caught a flash of dark purple cloak just inching around the shelves when Granger's voice called the girl in the opposite direction.

"No not there. The other corner Harm. Next to the pickled rat spleens."

With a low breath he moved himself further back into the shadows before casting a quick disillusionment charm over himself.

Extreme perhaps, but despite the fact that the girl had proved herself a modicum more intellectual than her thrice damned father he still had no desire to interact with her at that present time. The speech he used on all his first years seemed to have had quite the opposite effect on Potter, and she'd started to quiz him mercilessly as they'd walked through the forest collecting ingredients. And while her questions had been insightful, and clearly coming from someone who knew the answers already but was intent on testing herself as well as him, having to actually act like a teacher had nearly driven him to madness.

It didn't help matters that the attitude that had made countless students pray to every deity known to man and wizard appeared to have no discernable effect on the brat. He'd sneered, glared and generally been a grouchy bastard for several hours; eventually levelling her with one of his very best sharp eyed looks as he'd left her at her carriage for the night. In defiance of all good sense the girl had merely blinked up at him with those damnable absinthe eyes, thanked him once more for fixing her ankle and bid him a cheerful, if slightly shivery, goodnight.

It had been disconcerting to say the least.

The last time someone had been that unbothered by his surliness he'd still had a best friend.

Fifteen minutes later and the dull thump of two heavy baskets hitting the counter finally reached his ears.

"I think that's everything. I couldn't find any refined peat though Harm."

Severus frowned suspiciously.

_Refined peat? What in Salazar's name could the girl possibly want with something so volatile._

"Hopefully they'll have some in the back. I certainly can't remake the bastards surprise without it."

The sound of a bell resonated around the room as one of the girls struck the tiny copper ringer on the counter.

§¥§

Mabel heard the bell in the shop and wiped her hands on her apron.

She was in the middle of making a cake for Sally's birthday, but by the sounds of it her dolt of a son had left the front unattended again.

Muttering to herself about hiring someone who actually knew how to work in an apothecary she pulled off her apron and tucked a few fallen strands of grey back into her loosening bun, before wandering out to the shop. A welcoming smile instantly forming on her lips after so many years of practice.

Her steps and smile faltered slightly as she saw two unknown, and rather bright, young women standing next to her clean counter. But customers were customers and it was her responsibility to serve them... even if they did look like they were junior members of one of those newfangled covens Skeeter had reported about in the prophet.

"Can I help you ladies?" She asked cautiously.

The girl with the bright green hair and glasses smiled at her, and Mabel felt a little less uneasy. After all She couldn't envisage a young girl with a smile like that running around in the nude and smearing herself with kitten blood under the harvest moon.

"Hello, yes.. do you have any refined peat at all? We've looked through the shelves and I can't seem to find any."

Mabel felt her eyebrows join her hairline, refined peat was an unusual request. She'd not been asked for the particular ingredient since the Weasley boys had set up their shrine to trouble making and started buying everything wholesale.

"It's not something I keep on the shelves dear. It's a little to unstable to be left where anyone can fiddle with it. How much are you wanting exactly?"

The girl chewed on her silver painted nail for a second. "Er.. well I can probably get by with a quarter, but half a pound would be better if you have it."

Well that was a little more than she was expecting; it would certainly clear out her remaining stock.

"I think I can just about manage that, let me just go and check."

"Thank you."

Mabel nodded her head slightly before pushing through the curtain that hid the back of the shop from view. She could clearly hear Liden cursing up a storm in the order room and not for the first time she despaired of the influence his father had had on him.

An absent flick of her wand illuminated the storeroom and after a couple of minutes she found the large black jar she'd been searching for. Hefting the heavy glass container against her chest she removed the seal spell on the lid and carefully started to pour the contents into the silver scales sat on the storerooms small counter.

As she'd predicted the half pound the girl requested more or less emptied the jar and she decided to shove the last few dregs into the girls order for the hell of it. She'd need to purchase a new jar anyway and keeping the last few bits was taking up storage she didn't really have.

Though looking at the cobwebs on the upper shelves she wondered if it wasn't time for a stock clearance again… not that Linden would actually get off his arse and do it if she asked. He'd be to busy listening to the crup racing on the wireless.

Shaking her head slightly Mabel picked up the weighing pan and poured the peat into a leather pouch; making sure to apply a good strong sealing spell before heading back to her waiting customers.

The two girls were chatting quietly with their backs turned towards the counter when she returned. She cleared her throat slightly to gain their attention, inadvertently causing the one with the blue hair to jump.

"Here we go. Half a pound of refined peat."

"Thank you."

"You're quite welcome dear." Mabel said as she felt an unusually genuine smile take over her wrinkled face. It was rare to find such polite and friendly teenagers these days. "Now let me just tot up the rest of your things and you and your friend can be on your way. I'm sure such lovely young ladies have better things to be doing than standing around a dusty old apothecary."

Without much thought she started to age old process of pulling items from over full baskets; gradually writing the items down on an old scrap of parchment from under the counter. Her arthritic fingers started to cramp as the list got longer and not for the first time she wished those muggle calfulators worked in her shop. Unfortunately they always fizzled every time her youngest daughter had brought one around for her to try.

After double checking the total Mabel had to try very hard not to wince at the amount the girl owed.

"That will be twenty five galleons, seven sickles and one hundred and thirty three knuts please dear."

Apparently the girl wasn't as bothered by the amount as she was because she simply pulled a small pouch from her cloak and handed over twenty six galleons without so much as a blink.

Taking the offered coins Mabel discreetly shook her head. The amount of money young people had these days was truly astonishing. She could remember back in her day her father had been reluctant to give her more than a few galleons for a full weeks work in the apothecary. After handing the girl her change Mabel delicately wrapped the ingredients before placing them in one of the shops specially expanded feather light bags.

"There you go dear." Mabel said as she gave the girl her purchases. "Have a nice day now won't you."

As one the girls bid her a cheerful goodbye, before heading off into the steadily pouring rain. After giving the counter a quick wipe, and making sure the till was closed, Mabel turned to head back to her kitchen only to see a black figure materialise out of the shadows.

Her hand flew to her throat and she was about to start screaming bloody murder in the hope that her idiot of a son might hear her, but stopped at the last moment when she realised who it was who was trying to scare the living daylights out of her.

"Severus Snape!" Mabel cried in outrage. "How many time do I have to tell you not to loom in the shadows!"

"I do believe this will be the one hundred and ninety eighth time."

Mabel glared at the boy. Honestly the lad had been darkening her doorway since he'd arrived at Hogwarts nearly three decades ago and the teenage snarkiness had never left him…though it had become sharper after that dreadful war.

"If you can remember how many times I've said it then you can certainly remember not to hide in corners like a member of the undead." Mabel scolded.

She had half a mind to have a word with his mother. Not that the woman ever welcomed visitors in that mangy shop of hers.

"Now would you mind telling me exactly why you are looming in my apothecary so early in the day? If those poor girls had seen you lurking in the shadows they'd have been scared half to death."

Once upon a time Severus would've rolled his eyes at her or even cocked a cheeky sneer, but his eyes and face remained completely closed and inscrutable; uncomfortably reminding her that the war had done more to the boy than simply sharpen his tongue.

"If you care to recall," Severus started in his usual smooth drawl, "it has long since become my honour bound duty to scare troublesome brats. However that is not my purpose at this present time. I came to pick up my order nearly an hour ago and I am still waiting for your son to appear with it."

Mabel closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, taking a deep breath to calm herself.

_Why had Tabitha married that muggle?_

She loved the grandchildren the marriage had provided, but Rowena help her if only the girl had married a wizard Mabel wouldn't now be saddled with her eldest son in place of his sister. She'd only given Liden the job because they'd both been at a loose end: he'd just been fired and she needed the help. But she simply couldn't let him keep working there. He was going to run the family business into the ground.

"I apologise Severus." Mabel said after a moment, a tight smile taking up residence on her face. "That is not how I expect one of my best customers to be treated. I'll give you a ten percent discount for the inconvenience. Now if you'll excuse me for a moment I'll see about getting your order… and giving my miscreant fifty year old a clip round the ear."

Severus inclined his head in understanding and watched the plump, muttering witch bustle off through the black curtain; her face like thunder.

It didn't take many seconds before the shouting started.

Honestly Molly Weasley had nothing on Mabel Broderick.

§¥§

Harmony pulled her hood up just as she heard Hermione giggle.

"What's so funny?"

Hermione shook her head as she tucked her hands into the pockets of her padded coat.

"Nothing really, but did you see the look on the owners face when she saw us standing at the counter."

Harmony gave her friend a small smile as she side stepped a rather large puddle forming in a dent in the cobbles.

"Yeah I saw it. She seemed nice enough in the end though, and it can't be easy being her age without being at least a bit judgemental." Harmony said lightly. "After all I bet there weren't many people walking around with blue and green hair when she was a teenager."

"No probably not. Though I can never understand how you can be so blasé about people being instantly critical just because of the way you dress."

"It's not that I'm blasé." Harmony shrugged. "It's simply a matter of knowing that people will always judge other people whether they fit the appropriate moulds or not. It really is easier just to ignore the looks if they come. Most people come around with time and those that don't simply aren't worth the bother… well most of them anyway." Harmony grinned cheekily "Some of them are just to fun to screw with."

"Well I suppose you'd know." Hermione said with an amused huff. "Where are we heading now anyway? I couldn't help but notice you left the apothecary without even touching the shiny new equipment on display."

Harmony snorted. "Yeah like I was even going to think I could buy any of that. The pewter cauldron alone was nearly eight Galleons and it was only a basic model. Call me old fashioned but I think I'd much rather spend my hard earned cash on something that isn't going to melt after three months. So I figured we'd check out the junk shop I noticed before we went into Brodericks." Harmony placed her arm through her friends and started walking her in the direction of a crooked little shop on the other side of the street. "We, my dear bushy headed bookworm, are going bargain hunting."

"Fine." Hermione looked fondly exasperated even as she allowed herself to be tugged along. "But be warned Harmony Potter. If you happen to find another Hyacinth during this 'hunting trip' I may very well be forced to disown you."

"Duly noted." Harmony replied with a laugh. "Though I personally couldn't see the harm in getting her a friend. Maybe she wouldn't be so radgie all the time if she had someone to play with."

"Or maybe she'd rip the place to shreds in a fit a jealousy."

§¥§

Pushing against the door of Penelope's Paraphernalia Harmony and Hermione found themselves stepping into a cold, dark world that had been filled to the brim.

From old wireless sets to broken brooms and everything in between the space was certainly not sparse on stock. There was even a large stack of Ollivander boxes next to the glass door; though a quick snoop on Harmony's part proved them to be both empty and incredibly dirty.

She'd known the junk shop was unlikely to be pristine, she'd been in enough of them by that point to know being anything other than disorganised and a little grubby would be against their nature, but she had to admit even she had not expected the contrast between this shop and the one they'd just left to be quite so stark.

Where one was musty with ingredients but meticulously clean and dry, the other pervaded the stench of mildew and looked like it hadn't felt the loving touch of a duster in decades. Honestly the place was disgusting, and it was easily apparent that whoever actually owned it had long since given up running it as a viable business.

Finding the things she needed was not going to be as easy as she hoped.

"Should we look for the owner?" Hermione asked quietly as she pulled her hat off and stuck it in her pocket. "I'm not sure I want to touch anything in here without permission. Half the piles look like they'll come crashing down as soon as we breath near them."

"To be honest I'm not sure how we'd go about finding them in the first place. There's no bell here like there was in the apothecary." Harmony replied, glancing at the mahogany counter that separated the front of the shop from the back. "Besides, the shops clearly open so it's not like they can say we're doing anything wrong by looking around. If things happen to fall its hardly our fault the place hasn't been set up properly for customers."

Hermione gave her a look that said she was being particularly thick.

"Even if you use that as an excuse-" _which you really can't_ "-what exactly are you planning on doing if you find something you want to buy_._" Hermione asked pointedly. "Looking is one thing, but you can't merely leave a certain amount of Galleons on the counter and then be on your way... not that anything here actually seems to have a price on it."

"Well to be honest I figured it we made enough racket while we're looking around it would alert the owner that we're here any wa-"

"_**What**_ do you two want."

Cracked with age and disuse the sudden voice made the two girls jump out of their respective skins.

Swinging around it took Harmony agonising seconds to register that what she was seeing was not in fact Snape in drag, but a very pissed off witch. Spindly, tall and mean looking; her black wand was pointed directly in their faces. Making it quite plain that she was not a woman whose questions you ignored.

"I'm looking for potions equipment." Harmony said carefully. "I thought your shop might have some."

The woman continued to glare down her hooked nose at them, seemingly assessing her words for any hint of a lie. After a beat the wand was reluctantly lowered and she brushed a lank strand of white hair over her bony shoulder as she eyed them suspiciously.

"And why are you darkening my doorway for potions equipment? I don't know if you've noticed girl but this is not an apothecary. You need to see the busy body down the street for that."

"We've already been there, and it was pretty apparent I can't replace all my things new." Harmony said with a frown of discontent. "I had hoped this being a junk shop you'd have something a little...closer to my price range. But if you haven't got anything I'll find somewhere else to look."

She bent to pick up her bag of ingredients when a sharp fingered hand curled into her shoulder; stopping her before she could move more than a few inches.

"Now I never said I had nothing for you, just that this wasn't an apothecary. I don't get a lot of Hogwarts brats darkening my doorway, most of them are to scared to come near my shop let alone step foot inside it." A short, sharp twitch of her lips said that was just the way the witch liked it. "But since you've proven to have more backbone than that imbecilic lot lets see if I can't find what you're after."

The black wand was abruptly flicked towards the glass lamps lining the walls, finally bringing much needed light to the dank space and letting them see that filth and junk were not the only things housed in the gloom.

"Follow me and don't touch anything."

Picking up her skirts the woman swept away, not that herself or Hermione noticed; they were much to busy gaping in sick fascination at the mummified elf heads dangling from the ceiling.

"Well come on then."

The crackling voice broke through their horrified staring and they turned find the woman giving them a withering glare from the other side of the room. "I haven't got all day for you two to gape like a pair of mindless Hufflepuffs you know. My program will be on soon and I am not missing it, customers or no."

The woman's mouth curled in displeasure, revealing a glint of nicotine yellowed teeth as she turned on her heel and disappeared through the thin door; her black velvet dress cutting a trail across the grime encrusted floorboards.

Cautious of knocking over the various piles the elderly witch had evaded with ease Harmony and Hermione shared a brief look before gingerly picking their way across the shop. The room the woman had disappeared into was almost identical to the one they'd just left behind; stuffed to the rafters and filthy as all hell, the only real differences Harmony could see was that the walls were sort of white and none of Mary's kin were hung around the place like macabre baubles.

Hearing the not so distant sound of harsh mutterings, the two girls carefully wound their way around the various teetering piles until they came upon the woman rummaging through two battered school trunks that had been pushed against one of the peeling walls.

Harmony just managed to duck as a moth eaten rug flew over her head and landed on one of the piles behind her.

"Hey!" Hermione said somewhat indignantly, "you could've took her eye out."

"Don't be so dramatic girl." The woman said, not looking up. "The worst it would've done is made her dusty."

Her friend looked like she very much wanted to disagree with that, but the caustic sneer in the witches voice was unmistakable, and Hermione wisely chose to keep her mouth shut as the woman turned away from her rummaging and walked towards them; her posture radiating exactly what she thought of their presence.

"Everything I've got that's potions related is in there." She said, gesturing at the two fat trunks behind her. "I'll leave you two to look through them but be warned if you try and pinch anything you'll both be in for a world of trouble." A long finger pointed towards a faded red rope hanging near the windows. "When you're done just pull on that. Though if you know what's good for you you'll not pull on it to bloody quickly. You've already had the nerve to disturb my peace once today and I can promise I will not be anywhere near as hospitable if you interrupt my hour with Celestial Warbeck."

With a final sneer of pure loathing the witch stalked passed them and around the piles of junk before slamming the door behind her.

"Well that was pleasant." Harmony muttered as the muffled clack of heels faded away.

"Pleasant is not the word I'd use." Hermione replied as another door slammed and the shop went silent. "You really have to wonder why she even owns a shop if she loathes the thought of customers so much."

Harmony shrugged as she undid her cloak and flung it towards one of the least precarious looking piles she could see.

"Maybe she just enjoys scaring the shit out of people. Merlin knows those elf heads would do the trick ninety percent of the time."

Hermione gave a tiny shudder as she shed her coat and placed it on the pile.

"Don't remind me. I'm going to have some really horrid dreams tonight thanks to that."

"You and me both." Harmony said with grimace, before giving her friend a nudge. "Come on. Instead of discussing the décor it might be better if we got this lot sorted through. I really don't want to be in this shop longer than necessary."

"Is there anything in particular we're looking for?" Hermione asked as her friend knelt next to the trunks.

"Well a cauldron or two certainly." Harmony mused as she threw an old Slytherin robe off to the side. "And a few knives and stirrers, a pair of gloves… a set of scales wouldn't go amiss either. Oh and I definitely need a-"

"Alright! I get it." Hermione said, holding up a hand to stop the apparently long list. "What you're saying is you basically need enough to outfit a small lab."

Harmon grinned, "Pretty much."

Hermione shook her head slightly. "I still can't understand how you left everything behind in the first place. I thought you said you'd packed all of your potions stuff three days before we left."

Harmony blushed as she reached out to grab a blackened cauldron sticking out of the trunk on the left. "I did. I packed the travelling case and shrunk it down myself. The only thing I can think is that I forgot to put it with the rest of the luggage when the elves took everything down to the carriage." She frowned when the cauldron didn't budge under her insistent tugging. "I sent a letter off to Eddy before my detention last night. I asked her to check our room and see if the case is still under my bed. She'll look after it 'till we get back if it is."

"And if it isn't?" Hermione asked with a small grunt as she knelt next to her; trying to help her pull the stubborn cauldron free.

"Well if it _isn't _I guess I'll be using whatever we find today for longer than just our time at Hogwarts."

The small cauldron finally came loose and Hermione fell slightly backwards as it ended up in her lap. Her friend took a moment to examine it before holding it up in front of her face and giving Harmony a sceptical look through the fist sized hole melted in the bottom.

"I think you might need to find something a little less used first."

§¥§

Brushing a filthy strand of hair out of her eyes Harmony glanced at her watch letting out a small groan. Who the hell knew sifting through junk could take so long. Of course it probably wouldn't have taken her half as long if Hermione was still helping her, but fairly soon after they'd put the melted cauldron to one side her friend had grabbed something unknown and oozing and she'd refused to put her hands in the trunks again.

Not that Harmony blamed her. She doubted even Merlin himself could accurately describe half the things she'd pulled from the manky abyss.

With a low sigh Harmony sat back on her haunches and threw a pair of fingerless dragon hide gloves into the unwanted pile, turning to see what Hermione was up to; her friend had gone oddly quiet after her initial demands for a plethora of disinfectant spells and something clean to wipe her hands on.

It took Harmony a few moments of craning her neck but her eyes soon found the back of Hermione's bushy head hidden behind a large stack of ancient Witch Weekly's. She couldn't see what she was looking at but at least her friends posture said she hadn't been to mentally scarred by touching the unknown ooze.

Shaking her head Harmony stretched out her back before bending back over the trunks to pull out the last few bits. A pair of mustard yellow socks, a remembrall that looked like it had been used as an impromptu snitch and a ratty looking book.

Chucking the remembrall and the socks in the same direction as the gloves Harmony pulled the book into her lap and wiped the cover with her grubby fingers.

_Advanced potion making_

_by _

_Libatius Borage_

It was a Newt level school book, though being a Beauxbatons student not one she'd ever been subjected to. Curious to see what the Hogwarts books did differently to the Eddy approved variety Harmony carefully opened the mouldy cover.

The first few pages were covered in the same sort of mind numbing preface, introduction and dedications as her own books, but as she turned to the recipes proper she found herself blinking in surprise.

Tiny writing had been crammed into the pages blank spaces at all angles, while portions of the original instructions had been struck through and replaced with cramped alterations. With a small smile she flicked to the next page only to find it had been over written in exactly the same way. Allowing her smile to transform into a full fledged grin Harmony began to flick through the book at speed, her eyes quickly, and greedily, skimming over the blur of annotations until three words scrawled boldly across the top of a page near the middle made her pause.

_Sectumsempra – For Enemies._

Harmony mouthed the words to herself as she ran a careful finger over the faded ink. It was no spell she'd seen before and she had to wonder if it worked.

She certainly had plenty of 'enemies_'._

Deciding that she'd test it on her dummies the next day she brushed her finger over the words one last time and shut the book; intending to read through it properly once they were back at the carriage. But as she put it to one side the top of the keep pile collapsed and the textbook tumbled. Its spine cracking against the hard floor and the back cover flopping open as it revealed one last surprise.

_This book is the property of the half blood prince._

Harmony couldn't help snorting when she saw the name; though she instantly regretted doing so when she inhaled Circe only knew what and started coughing up a lung_. _

"You okay?"

"Yeah-.. I'm fine. Just breathed in at the wrong time."

Wiping her streaming eyes with the only part of her sleeve not covered in muck Harmony once more closed the book, leaning it against the pile this time instead of on top of it, before pushing herself up off the cold floor.

Eyeing the piles of discarded junk she scrubbed her gritty fingers down her skirt before picking the things up an armful at a time and haphazardly flinging them back into the two empty trunks.

"Are you done?" Hermione asked as she appeared behind her a little while later.

"Yeah." Harmony said as she threw the last few items in and closed the lids. "Did find anything you want yoursel-" she started, only to cut herself off with a fondly resigned huff as she noticed the haul in her friends arms. "I can't take you anywhere without it turning into a trip to the library can I?"

"Oh shut up." Hermione said as a light blush stained her cheeks. "We've gone plenty of places where I haven't even thought about books, much less bought any. Besides you're one to talk, what on earth do you want that mouldy thing for."

A trainer clad foot came up to point at the princes book.

Casting a quick glance at the tatty thing Harmony offered her friend a small shrug. "I just wanted a bit more time to read it. It's basically been rewritten by whoever last owned it and some of the annotations and things look like they could be interesting," she grinned at her friend. "Honestly there's so many of them the book looks like it's suffering from some sort of parchment disease."

Raising her eyebrow Hermione gave her a flat look. "Like yours do you mean?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Harmony muttered innocently as she cast a quick scourgify over her filthy jumper and skirt.

"You don't huh."

Hermione was trying to look stern but the playful twinkle in her eyes gave her away. "So it's my imagination is it that your text books look more like notepads?"

"Notepads?" Harmony said giving Hermione a comically bewildered look as she walked around her and grabbed her cloak. "What are these mysterious things you speak of."

Her friend rolled her eyes in a way that said she would've smacked her on the arm if her own weren't full of books.

"Oh har." Hermione said with a slight smile, before her eyes turned just a little more serious. "But honestly Harm wouldn't it be easier just to write your notes and things somewhere separate? I really don't understand how you can read half your books any more."

"I can read them just fine." Harmony said as she swung the purple wool around her shoulders and fastened it closed. "Besides you shouldn't knock something until you've tried it. You might _like_ writing all over your books."

"I would never commit such sacrilege." Hermione said with a hint of indignation that was in no way feigned.

This time Harmony was the one to roll her eyes. "It's hardly sacrilege. Eddy encourages me to do it and our friend here," she pointed at the princes book, "clearly had no issue with it." She shot her friend a vaguely feral grin as she wandered over to the other side of the room. "You really should try coming over to the dark side 'Mione. Life is so much easier here_ and_ we have large supplies of Honeydukes finest."

Hermione gave an odd combination of a snort and a giggle. "No way am I coming over to the dark side if the only benefits are hanging around with Eddy and some random ex Hogwarts student while we defile our books and eat chocolate."

"I'd be there to." Harmony pouted playfully.

"Because that makes it_ so_ much more appealing." Hermione muttered dryly.

Sticking her tongue out at her friend Harmony wandered over to the window and pulled the red cord.

Nothing happened.

Harmony frowned and pulled it again.

No bell.

No chime.

No noise at all.

"Do you think it's broke-" Hermione started to ask, but was interrupted by something large scraping across the floor above. Sharing a look the girls waited in silence until the unmistakable clack of heels could be heard through the ceiling.

The owner was on the move.

§¥§

Breathing a heavy sigh of relief Hermione pulled the glass door closed and followed Harmony out into the soggy street. She honestly didn't know where her friends gumption to haggle had come from, but with the way it had set the witches wand hand twitching she was surprised they'd managed to escape in one piece.

"Well that was fun wasn't it?"

Even though her face was hidden behind the box containing their purchases Hermione could still tell her friend was grinning like an idiot.

"Fun?" She asked incredulously as she grabbed Harmony's elbow and started walking her away from the shop. "If you call that fun it's no wonder the goblet chose you as champion… it clearly picked up on your rampant desire for a painful death."

The box shook in Harmony's arms as she laughed. "I do not have a desire for a painful death."

"You must do. Why else would you have haggled with a woman who clearly has no strong grasp of her temper."

"Oh come on, who in their right mind was going to pay seventy five galleons for this lot? Not only was it a total rip off it would've more or less wiped out my savings." Her friends head turned slightly giving Hermione a quick glimpse of green eyed mischief. "Besides I really think she enjoyed having a good'ol barter in the end."

"Enjoy- Harm when was the last time you saw Monsieur Ocularist?"

"Why?" Harmony asked clearly caught off guard by the seemingly random question.

"Because you obviously need a new set of glasses if you couldn't see that woman was about five seconds away from turning you into her latest ceiling decoration."

"Maybe. But in the end does it really matter what she looked like she was about to do? The main thing is that she didn't and I managed to get your books and my things for a price we could both afford."

"I still say you have a death wish."

"And I say you have a book fetish but we are who we are. Now when the wicked witch of the nest-"

"West." Hermione muttered patiently.

"-grudgingly went off to grab me a box you mentioned something about lunch?"

Recognising the change of subject for what it was Hermione shook her head in exasperation and gripped her friends elbow more tightly; steering her around the lamp post she'd been about to walk into.

"Yes, it's already well after eleven so it makes sense to eat before we finish looking around the village. We'll go to The Three Broomsticks. It's a little less offensive to the senses that Madam Puddifoots appears to be." Hermione answered, eyeing the garishly pink teashop she could just see up an adjacent side street.

Harmony giggled into her box. "That bad is it?"

"Not bad… I just don't feel like sitting in cherub vomit."

§¥§

The pub smelled distinctly of wet dog and damp wool as Hermione led her through the door of the three broomsticks and over to a table. Seeing the edge of a chair she placed the box down with a relieved sigh and rolled her shoulders.

It was going to be hell carrying back to the carriage.

_Though I suppose I should be thankful that the feather light charm worked on it considering the Reducio didn't. _Harmony thought as she tried running a hand through her tangled curls; only for it to get ravelled in a particularly nasty knot.

"_Dammit_."

"Oh honestly." Hermione muttered when she saw what she'd done to herself. "This is why you're supposed to use a hair brush and not fingers."

"I do use a hairbrush." Harmony hissed she wiggled her fingers free and started untangling the clump of hair.

"Not very well clearly." Hermione said as she draped her coat over a chair before discreetly pulling a pad from the pocket. "You can order us some lunch if you like. I'm just nipping to the loo."

Harmony nodded. "Yeah alright," she paused slightly looking at the pink plastic packet in her friends hand. "I didn't think you were due 'til-"

Hermione cut her off with a thin smile. "No it's just a bit of cramp. I don't honestly think anything's started yet but… well it's better to be safe than sorry isn't it."

Harmony snorted.

Oh yes they'd certainly learned _that_ lesson.

A bright red patch on the back of light blue skirt was not a good look.

Her eye caught Hermione's and the two of them shared a rueful smile before her friend wandered off to the toilet.

Trying very hard not to remember two of the most embarrassing days of their lives Harmony cast a quick, though far from painless, detangling spell over her hair before taking off her cloak and going to order some lunch a requested.

The buxom blond behind the bar was talking to a large shaggy man as she approached. Seeing that the woman seemed to be in no great hurry to end her conversation Harmony turned her back against the counter and let her gaze wander idly over the pub and it's patrons. It was certainly nothing like La Sorcière Fantasie; the salon they often frequented in Rue Lisette. For one thing none of the people in it looked like they'd just stepped off a Parisian fashion plate.

She'd just noticed a rather fine looking infestation of Durmstrang students at a table on the other side of the room when a cheerful voice spoke up behind her.

"What'll it be love?"

Knowing she was unlikely to get a croque monsieur and a fizzy nymph Harmony turned towards the land lady with an uncertain smile and asked for the next best thing. "Do you do tea and sandwiches at all?"

"Course love." The woman's own smile was all teeth, though still remarkably friendly. "One pot between you and your friend is it?" She asked; gesturing over at the table where Hermione had come back from the loo and was already busy rooting through the box for her books.

Harmony frowned. "Yes. How did you-"

"It's the hair love. No one else whose come in ere's looked like you two." The land lady said jovially as she bustled off into the back.

Harmony tried her best no to gape, but honestly. First the apothecary and now this. They could not be the only ones to have walked around Hogsmead looking a little outside the norm. For one thing Tonks had been hanging around the area since she was a young child, and Harmony refused to believe herself and Hermione were more conspicuous than a woman who regularly donned neon pink locks and various animal noses… granted these days the noses were mostly to amuse her baby son but still.

"Haf your friend recovered?"

The unexpected voice in her ear gave her a start. Though thankfully not enough of one to be noticed by anyone other than herself and the brooding Viktor Krum who'd appeared at her side.

Harmony gave him a side eyed glance. "Recovered?"

She knew Hermione was looking a little flushed from the cold weather but she didn't think she looked like she was getting over an illness or anything.

The lines on Krum's forehead deepened. "After she vomit on my feet she not look so good. I vish to know how she is doing, I know hangover rather nasty."

Those two sentences were so simple and yet they left Harmony feeling like she'd been doused in ice as the memories that had lain just out of reach the day before came hurtling forwards.

_The broody babies _

"Fuck."

_The soiled trainers. _

"Fuck."

_Krum carrying her comatose friend back to the carriage..._ _which was sort of sweet really but still..._

"Fuck"

_How could I have forgotten something so fucking important._

Harmony was fairly sure she must've looked as bad as she suddenly felt because Krum was looking at her with some concern.

"Vot is wrong?"

"So fucking much." Harmony muttered, before looking at the boy with a grimace. "Please, _please_ don't mention it to her. She doesn't know what she did."

The seeker quirked an eyebrow at her. "How she not know? She was one who vomit."

Harmony felt like smacking her head against the bar. "I- well yes she was but I didn't mean it like that. What I meant was she can't remember anything about the party, much less what happened on the way back to the-"

"Harm?"

_Bloody hell_

"Is there a problem?"

Hermione's voice was hesitant, though not devoid of an undercurrent of: if he's trying to be an arse for beating him in quidditch on Saturday I'll punch him in the nose. And while she would normally feel just a little mushy that her friend was so protective now really was not the time.

"I vas asking your friend if you are okay after-"

_Shitting sodding fuc-_

"He was asking if we were okay after he escorted us back to the carriage the other morning." Harmony said, hastily cutting over the boy. "He found us stumbling around in the dark and was kind enough walk us in the right direction. We'd probably have ended up in the black lake if he hadn't run into us."

Her insides squirmed as she told the half truth.

She knew Hermione needed to know what she'd done but she couldn't let something so mortifying be aired in the middle of the bloody pub. Yes the boy in question didn't seem the least bit bothered by her friends actions but that didn't mean Hermione herself wouldn't be.

"I'm sorry if we inconvenienced you." Her friend said; flushing brightly as her eyes took on an unmistakable gleam at the thought of her long term crush being such a gentleman.

"I have to say I'm drawing a blank for anything before eleven yesterday morning, but had I been made aware of your help," Harmony felt her insides squirm again as Hermione gave her a mock glare of consternation, "I would've thanked you sooner. So thank you."

Krum waved off her thanks with a gruff look, though there appeared to be a slight hint of pink in his cheeks. "It is alright. I haf teammates who haf been much vorse."

Hermione looked like she was about to ask what he meant by that, but the land lady seemed to have been a seer in another life because she interrupted before she even got a chance to open her mouth.

"Here's you tea and sandwiches love. I've added an extra cup in case your gentleman friend wanted to join you."

Both girls suddenly looked like rabbits in a lumos, though for very different reasons.

"I'm sure he has much better th-..."

"I vould like zat very much." Krum said with something vaguely like a smile as he cut over Hermione's flustered mumbling. "If ze ladies not mind my company."

Hermione went scarlet. "Of course not we'd be happy for you to join us."

As her friend smiled shyly at Krum and he took the tray off the patiently waiting land lady Harmony honestly didn't know what to do with herself. Laugh, cry, cheer...throw herself off the nearest tall building. Frankly they all seemed like brilliant options as she followed the retreating pair back to the table.

As Krum set the tray down and moved the box off the spare seat he noticed the books Hermione had left on the table and pointed to one sitting precariously close to the edge.

"Zis is interesting book."

Hermione gave the boy a bright smile as she poured herself a cup of tea. "Oh, have you read it?"

Krum frowned. "A little, I vas confused by some of ze finer point. But ze professor recommend for my vork and I manage to get enough from it in ze end."

"Are you taking runes as a subject then?"

"Da, it is most interesting. My Dyado vas rune smith-…"

As Krum drew her friend into safe, and very much Hermione worthy, conversation Harmony felt herself relax just a touch. Perhaps letting them talk over tea wouldn't turn out to be such a bad thing. She knew it could still backfire spectacularly if Krum were to spill the beans, but with her there to chaperon at least the chances of it were slim. And maybe this way the less than auspicious first meeting could be forgotten about… at least until Harmony found a better time and place to break the truth.

As Hermione laughed at something Krum had said she really hoped her revelations didn't end up unravelling everything. Because while she currently felt like the worlds biggest third wheel it was still nice to see her friend opening up around a boy she'd been crushing on for so long; particularly one who seemed like they'd be able to keep up with Hermione's never ending thirst for knowledge.

With a small smile Harmony sat back and grabbed a sandwich; deciding that for the moment it was probably best not to worry about what could be and simply enjoy the Krumione show.

There'd be time enough later to fret over her friends reaction.

And anyway she had other things to worry about before then. Like investigating the bright orange monstrosity they'd passed on the way to Brodericks earlier that morning. She still needed to replace a few more bits that had been in the forgotten travelling case and the brightly lit windows of the joke shop had looked promising for replacing them… even if a few of the things they were advertising did appear to be just a tad suspect.

She still hadn't been able to figure out why people would want to buy canary flavoured sweets.

note

I know a few of you may be wondering why Harmony was able to go into Hogsmeade given the Geasan is enforce, but there are a couple of things that might help you understand that better.

One I wholly believe that the man who created the terms would've seen Hogsmeade as within reasonable bounds. From what I can tell the village should've existed at the time of the altered contract so it would've likely been included as somewhere the students could still go without consequence.

And two as is stated in chapter nine the contract ensures "the entrants do not leave bounds for a prolonged period of time." Not that they can't leave at all, ever.

The terms I created and never used in the end essentially said that the students wouldn't start to feel the first effects of the contract until they'd been outside the set boundaries for eight hours.

These terms may well come up later so I won't include them here for the time being.

Right now that's out the way I would once again like to apologise for the long wait, I lost broadband mid September and in the end didn't get it back again until November seventh, which made life fairly tricky considering my laptop has no proper hard drive and all my docs are stored on my Microsoft cloud.

Like I said I had hoped to have this up for my thirtieth birthday but things just kept getting in the way. So I really am sorry.

Once again I hope you enjoyed this new chapter and since the next one won't be posted until after the new year I'm going to wish everyone a very merry December however you choose or have to spend it.

And for those followers of my when snakes fall verse there might be a new two shot coming your way over Christmas. I can't promise because I'm hellishly busy at this time of year but we'll see.

See y'all in 2020, pink X (^^)

Edit May 2020. As much is it pains me to do so Out of sight is now officially **on hiatus**, this does not mean the story is in danger of being abandoned, I have put far to much effort into it for that out come to be acceptable, but for the time being I currently have no idea when the next update will be. Sorry if this has led to either a) disappointment or b) that hair ripping feeling of "AAARRRGHH I want to know what happens next". I have suffered both of these with on hiatus stories so it gives me not pleasure to do it to you guys. But until I can figure out how to adult and write at the same time I'm afraid real life has to take precedence over a story that takes so much research and mental dedication that I have literally lost entire days to the Wikipedia demons.

Thanks for reading. Pink x


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